


A Not So Happy Beginning.

by herblondetoy



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Miscarriage, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:02:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 50,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23864965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herblondetoy/pseuds/herblondetoy
Summary: Emma thought she and Killian were happily ever after. How wrong she was. Can she heal after the abuse? Will she let Regina in to help her? Will Emma ever be happy again? **very Anti-Killian. Don't read it if you don't like it** **Anti CS** **Mention of abuse and miscarriage**
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 91
Collections: 4 stars





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Now, warning. It's VERY ANTI KILLIAN. So, if you like Killian, don't read this. If you like CS, don't read this. I'm not sure if this will be long or short, but it will be SQ in the end and I'm sorry, but will be anti Killian throughout, and later, anti Robin. If you don't like that, don't read this. Don't sit here and review on how mean I am or any of that because I'm warning you now that this is how the story is.
> 
> ***Trigger warning***
> 
> Mentions of miscarriages
> 
> Abuse is mentioned throughout as well.

Emma sat in her car, her head back against the headset and tears streaming down her face. She was hiding from anyone and everyone at this point. The blonde had tried to talk to her mother, but Snow had turned her away claiming Neal was contagious. To Emma, however, it just proved everything Killian had been telling her; she was worthless and even her family no longer wanted her.

Emma thought she was happy that day she walked down to her pirate with her parents. Sure, she had doubts, fears, but everyone was so sure, so happy for her, that she figured she was being silly. How wrong she was. It started out slow with little things really. He'd get an attitude if Emma worked late, get drunk more often and say snarky things to hurt Emma. Then, he'd started making Emma feel guilty for spending time with anyone that wasn't him. Henry stopped coming as often as he hated the way Killian put Emma down and how Emma would just laugh it off as if it was nothing. Then, once she was really separated from her family, he started with the real abuse. He forced her to wear a magic proof cuff and broke her down. It was all verbal and mental at first, but soon it became physical. When Emma refused to quit her job, he broke three of her fingers without flinching. The next day, Emma turned in her two weeks' notice.

Today had been bad and Emma still didn't know how she got out. Killian had been drinking and came home to find Emma napping on the sofa. The blonde never slept well at night since she had woken to Killian choking her because she had let out a snore, so she'd get sleep when Killian was out of the house.

"You lazy little whore!" He had yelled at her. "This house is a disaster and you're sleeping?! You really are that stupid, aren't you? You need to be looked after like a damn child!" He had rushed to her and lifted her by her hair. Emma turned to get away, but she had grown weak thanks to Killian not letting her work out and her not having an appetite lately. "You are mine, Swan. Mine! You are to do as I say and while I'm gone, I expect you to be doing your chores, not being lazy." His spit was hitting her face and mixing with her tears.

"Please stop." She let out. "I did all my chores and dinner is in the oven. I just needed to rest."

"Aww, boo hoo. You're such a baby. No wonder no one else wants anything to do with you anymore. I'm all you have, and you can't even do the little I ask of you to do!" He grabbed tighter to her hair before letting go long enough to full out punch her in the face. "That's for talking back to me." He let her go and she fell to the ground, holding her face. He then sneered at her and kicked her. "You're pathetic!" He spat at her.

Emma painfully clenched her jaw. "Then why don't you leave?"

Big mistake.

Killian grabbed her arms and pulled her up, pinning her to the wall as his hook dug into her arm, making her bleed. She had lost track of how many scars his hook alone had given her. "You still talking back to me? If I left you, you'd have no one. Is that what you want?"

Call it courage or call it stupidity, but whatever it was rushed over Emma. "Yes! Yes, that's exactly what I want! You won't leave because you'll lose my money and you'll have nothing!"

"He glared at her, holding her tighter, her arm bleeding more. "I can leave anytime I want. I have my ship and my crew, and I can find plenty of whores to keep me company. I don't need you, Swan, don't fool yourself into thinking that."

She looked at him through tears, her arm and head throbbing. "Then leave. If there's nothing keeping you here, just go. I don't love you anymore; I honestly don't know that I ever did."

Killian smirked at her and pressed himself against her. "You're still good for one thing." He stated, kicking her legs apart.

Emma shook her head, but he turned her so that she was pushed against the wall. She hated this, she didn't want it, but he didn't care – he never did. He took it whenever he wanted. Emma pushed back against him, trying to get away. Killian, however, took that as a sign that she wanted him.

"See? I know you like this. You're such a trashy little slut."

Emma closed her eyes tight and used all her strength to push Killian away. He wasn't expecting that, and the surprise worked in Emma's favor as he fell back over himself. "You'll pay for that." He growled, but Emma used this as her chance to run.

The blonde grabbed her keys and phone, which Killian usually kept with him, but he had put on the table when he got home. She ran for the door, expecting to be grabbed at any moment. Killian, however, was slow getting up due to his intoxication level and Emma was outside before he registered what was going on. Her hands were shaking, but Emma got the car started and was pulling out as Killian got to the door.

"Shit. Now what?" Emma asked herself as she drove down the road.

That was when Emma decided to call her mother to see if she could come over. She hadn't seen her for a long time and honestly, just wanted to feel her arms around her.

"I'm sorry, Em. It's not a good time. Neal is sick and crabby, and I don't want him getting you sick." Besides, Snow was tired from being up with Neal all night and wasn't thinking straight.

Emma hung up the phone and tried calling her dad, but it just went to voicemail. The same was true when she tried Henry's cell phone. Emma ended the call and threw her phone down on the seat before hitting her steering wheel. "Fuck!" She felt her tears coming as she heard Killian's voice in the back of her head.

"They don't love you anymore, Emma. They don't need you. You've done your job as Savior and now, you just an annoyance to everyone. Henry loves Regina more than you because you're a shit mother who gave him up. Your parents have Neal now and don't need you. You've been a disappointment anyway. They all know it; they all talk about you when you're not there. Oh, and Regina? Your best friend Can't stand you. She knows it's your fault her Robin died, and she hates you for it. She just puts up with you because of Henry, but now that he hates you, she doesn't have to pretend anymore. Zelena hates you too. She gave her magic up to help you and now she regrets it and resents you. You have no one."

Emma had driven off the road and into the woods, her small car letting her go further in than other cars could go. She parked and just broke down, her heart hurt, her body hurt, her soul hurt. How was she so weak? She hadn't felt like this since she was a foster kid and had no control. How had she let it come to this? What did she do now? What was left for her? Emma looked at her phone, seeing that no one had tried calling her, she shook her head. "Nothing. I have nothing."  
SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

"Mom, please let me go! Something is wrong, I just now it." Henry stated as he tried again to call Emma. "She called, but I just missed it and now, her phone just keeps ringing. I think that asshole did something to her phone and probably to her as well."

"Henry, language." Regina sighed. She hated seeing Henry like this, but unfortunately, this wasn't new. This was how the married Emma was. "Henry, you know how your mother is now. We've talked about this. If you go there, either she or Killian will tell you that everything is fine, even if it's not; that's the choice she made. Snow and I have tried, Henry. She says everything is fine. That's all she says."

Henry looked at her, desperation in his eyes. "Please mom. This is different, I can feel it."

Regina chewed her lip as she thought. Of course, she was worried; she'd been worried ever since Emma started dating Killian, but she tried. Oh, she tried so hard. She talked to Emma in the Underworld about him, tried when he had vanished before they got married. She really didn't get why Emma was so hung up on the jerk, or how he had fooled everyone to believe he had changed. She wanted to be there for Emma, they had come a long way and she missed her best friend.

"Have you tried calling your grandparents? Maybe one of them is talking to her now."

"Grandma said Ma called her about the same time she called me, but she told Emma it wasn't a good time since Neal is sick. Grandpa just missed her call and has tried calling her back, but he isn't getting through either. No voice mail either, Mom."

Regina couldn't help but roll her eyes at that. "So, she doesn't hear from Emma for months and once she finally reaches out, she turns her away." She sighed as she got her phone out. As she was about to try Emma for herself, her phone rang. Regina sighed when she saw Killian's name. "Hello?"

"Is she with you?" He growled, causing Regina to grit her teeth.

"Is who with me?" Regina kept her voice casual.

"You know who! My whore of a wife, that's who! Are you keeping her from me? Whatever she told you is a lie! She hurt herself for attention; I never touched her."

Regina stood straight at those words. "What are you talking about, Pirate? What did you do to her?"

"So, she's not there. Well, at least she's not as dumb as I thought she was. Arg, she's so worthless."

"You shut your mouth! Do not talk about her like that! She's worth more than you know, and I swear if you hurt her, you're…"

"She's mine, Regina! I can do what I want to her. Have you forgotten what it means to be married? I own her."

Furious, Regina ended the call and dialed Emma's number. Now she was worried. "Pick up, idiot."

After the tenth ring, she hung up looking at Henry. "We have to find her. Call your grandfather and tell him we will be at the station in five minutes."

While Henry did that, Regina called Maleficent. Ever since she had Lily back and the realms were united, Mal became another resident of Storybrooke. She was also someone Emma could call a friend.

"Hello, Regina." Maleficent said by way of answering.

"Maleficent, I need your help. Remember our conversation about Emma? I fear we were right, and we waited too long." She told her the situation and the conversation with Killian. "I'm meeting David at the station. You and I can find her with magic, but she may not want to see us, she may want her father."

"She may not want any of us, but we've let this go too long. I swear, I'll rip him apart if he hurt her. I'll meet you at the station."

Five minutes later, the four of them were at the station. Regina didn't want Henry to come, but since he was almost an adult and he insisted, there wasn't much she could do. Regina relayed her conversation with Killian to David, so he'd understand why she found this to be so serious.

"We've been worried but wanted to give her space. We thought she knew she could come to us if she needed us."

Maleficent sighed. "He probably has her so brainwashed to believe she's alone and no one wants her."

Henry clenched his jaw. "We should have talked to her before. We all waited too long."

"You're right, Henry. We just didn't want her to think we didn't trust her." Regina stated with a sigh. "Now, I wonder how much damage has been done both physically and emotionally."

David sighed. "Let's go find out."

"Regina, you're probably closer to her than me. You focus on her and I'll take us where you lead." Mal stated, taking Regina's and Henry's hand. They formed a circle and were soon gone in a puff of smoke.

SQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQSQ

Cold. Emma felt cold. Her shirt was ripped from Killian's hook, her blood now dried on her arm. Her face, arm, stomach, and back all hurt, but the cold at least made the pain more of a numbness. She had tried calling her family again along with Regina, Zelena, Lilly, Maleficent, even Granny, but the phone just kept ringing with no one answering. Each time was like another rejection and in the end, Emma just threw her phone out the window. Emma then got out of her car and walked for a while, blind from tears. The blonde felt so alone, tired and just done with everything.

The sun was setting, and she was in a clearing in the woods as she laid back and looked up at the sky. Silent tears slid down the sides of her face as she prepared to give up. "I came to this world alone and I'm leaving it alone." She closed her eyes. "I love you, Henry. I hope you know and believe that, even if you don't love me back. I get it. I'm nothing, but you…you are everything. Mom and dad, I'm sorry I'm not enough. I really did try. I tried so hard." She sniffed as her tears fell harder. "It always ends the same. I try, I think it's good, but I do something to mess it up. Most of the time, I don't even know what I did wrong. This time, I know it's because I'm not good enough to be a Charming. I always knew and was just waiting for the other foot to fall. Now it has and I'm so sorry." Emma turned on her side and curled up, the cold starting to make her shake. "Regina. Oh Regina." She let out a gut-wrenching sob. "I'm so sorry for everything. I'm sorry for what my grandfather did and for what I did. I'm sorry for everything with Henry, with Robin. I never wanted to hurt you, Regina. Never. You're the last person I ever wanted to hurt. I…I love…"

"Mom! Mom, are you okay?" Henry saw Emma the moment the smoke cleared. He rushed to her and knelt, gasping when he saw her face. "Oh mom. What did he do?"

Emma closed her eyes, feeling embarrassed. "Go home, Henry. I love you, I love you so much, but leave me be. It's for the best."

Henry shook his head. "No. If I go, you're coming with me."

Emma was shaking, and David came over and put his jacket over her. "You're freezing Emma. How hurt are you?"

Emma looked at her dad, but her eyes were blank. "I'm numb, but soon I won't feel anything. Just let me go."

Regina watched this, feeling more empathy than she ever expected. "No." She said, surprising even herself. She waked over and knelt by Emma. "You will not let him do this to you, Emma. Do not let him take you from us. We need you, we want you, and we love you. Whatever he has told you is a lie." She stated in a caring but firm way. Regina saw the bruises and gently stroked Emma's face. "You need a doctor. Please let us take you; we can use my magic to get you there."

"I can't." Emma stated, holding up her wrist to show the cuff. "Any magic will hurt me."

Regina saw the cuff, but her eyes went to Emma's scrapped upper arm. Before she could say anything, however, Maleficent came over and took Emma's wrist. "Almost any magic." She looked at the blonde. "I'm sorry if there's any paint, but this is the only way." Regina took hold of Emma's other hand and looked into those now dull green eyes that once held so much hope and happiness. Even when Emma first came, even when she had taken in the darkness, her eyes were never this dull and dead.

Mal took Emma's wrist and brought it close to her mouth. Very carefully, she breathed a steady stream of fire on it, burning it in half. Emma gasped and gripped Regina's hand, but as soon as the cuff was off, Maleficent was soothing her wrist. She kissed it softly as she looked at Emma. "You'll start to feel better soon, my child. I want to just heal you, but your injuries need to be documented. Some go beneath the surface." She held the now broken cuff. "This did more than stop your magic, Emma. It drained your magic, drained you."

Emma let out a breath. "Is that why I've been so tired?"

Mal smiled sadly. "Partly. You're also depressed, and something tells me that you don't let yourself fully sleep."

Emma just looked away. "I'm so tired."

"Come on mom. Let us take care of you, please." Henry stated, and David came over to lift Emma in his arms as if she weighed nothing. In fact, he was worried at how light she was.

"We're not letting you go, Em. You can be mad at me, baby girl, but I cannot lose you again."

Emma curled more into her father. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry I haven't been good enough."

David closed his eyes, his heart breaking. "Em, you could never not be good enough and I'm so sorry I ever made you feel that way. Just rest, Emma. There will be time to talk later." He looked at Regina and the group all stood together before they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Snow rushed into the waiting room, worry written all over her face. "Is she okay? I need to see her. Oh, I shouldn't have turned her away. I wasn't thinking."

David put his arm around his wife. "You can tell her that later, love. The doctors are looking her over now."

"What about Killian? Where is that bastard?"

David sighed. "Leroy went to arrest him, but he's not home nor at his ship. He and Ruby are tracking him. I want to arrest him myself, but I don't trust myself not to kill him."

Henry grit his teeth. "Death is too good for him. Someone needs to break him like he broke her."

Regina put her hand over Henry's. "You're right, Henry, but we can't lower ourselves to his level." She looked at him and added. "No matter how badly we want to."

Henry let out a breath. "I know, mom. I just…I should have seen this. I should have stopped it." He angrily brushed tears from his eyes. "I should have known something was off."

Regina put an arm around her son. "We did know, Henry. We all suspected, but we were all too scared to talk to Emma. We all thought she'd tell us if she couldn't handle it and needed help. We were all wrong, but don't beat yourself up about it. One of us should have done something, not you."

"Why? Just because you're adults?"

"Because we're not her children." Maleficent answered softly. "We're her friends and family and we shouldn't have let it go this far. Personally, Henry, I'm sorry that I let it get to this point."

Henry sat back, trying to calm down. "Thanks. But honestly, Ma doesn't make it easy. She's stubborn and never admits when she needs help. She thinks it makes her look weak."

Just then, Dr. Whale came out looking for them. He looked at Snow and David. "As her parents and emergency contacts, I can talk to you. Regina, you're also in her file as someone I can talk to. It's up to you all if you want Maleficent and Henry – as a minor – to hear."

Regina, who was surprised she was on the list, looked at Snow and David. "As her parents, I'll leave it up to you if you even want me to hear."

"Emma listed you for a reason." Snow stated and then looked at Whale. "What about Killian?"

He looked at the charts again, though he'd already looked before. "There's no mention of him anywhere. Being they are married, under normal circumstances, that wouldn't matter as we'd automatically go right to the spouse. However, these aren't normal circumstances and if he were to show his face here, I'll end up in jail after what I've just seen." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's go to a more private room."

Snow, David, and Regina went to follow, but henry and Maleficent weren't sure they were able to. Snow looked back at them and gave a nod. "Come with. She won't care if you know."

Maleficent linked her arm with Henry's and they followed the others to a smaller room. They all sat down and looked to Dr. Whale.

"I'm not sure where to start." He stated, looking at the charts and pictures. "She's underweight, malnourished, and dehydrated. Not to mention exhausted." He added. "She has scars, and bruises, both old and new. There's evidence of broken fingers that weren't set properly, sprains and a break in her right ankle, both wrists, and left elbow that didn't set right or get treatment for so they all healed a bit…wonky." He put up various x-rays and pictures and David couldn't help but be reminded of crime shows where they'd put pictures of victims and crime scenes up. "David, I have a copy of these for the sheriff's office. I'm assuming Killian will be charged for all this."

All David could do was nod. He was scared that if he opened his mouth, he'd either start cursing, crying or he'd get sick. This was his daughter, his baby and this pathetic excuse for a man completely broke her. David couldn't protect her when she was a child in foster care, but he could now, and he failed. He utterly and completely failed, and he was filled with anger, sadness, and regret. He failed her as a father, and he didn't know if he could make it up to Emma.

"Can you tell how long this has been happening?" Henry asked with tears in his own eyes. He also felt as if he failed his mother. He knew things were going on, but he'd only see the verbal aspect. However, he felt like he should have stopped this, he should have stood up for his mother. He should have stood up TO his mother and not let her just tell him she was fine.

Dr. Whale looked at the charges. "My best guess is at least seven months, which is about three months after they were married." He swallowed. "There's also evidence that she had a miscarriage about three months ago. Either she didn't know, or as I suspect, she wasn't allowed to get medical help for it as that's also around the time she would have broken her ankle. She has a small infection from that, which she's lucky it's not worse, that we are treating with antibiotics."

Snow silently wept as David stood and went to the window. He couldn't stop feeling like such a failure.

Regina blinked away her own tears and cleared her throat. "When can we see her? How is she now? I mean, is she stable? Is she of sound mind? Is she still talking of dying?"

"She's…" Dr. Whale sighed. "She's depressed. Severely and utterly depressed, but she did say she's glad she didn't die. That's a good sign. You have to remember, she's been being beaten down for months now and she's probably tired of feeling like the lowest of the low. We've got an IV to get her rehydrated and for the antibiotics and I'm hoping that will make her less lethargic. We can fix her body, but it's up to her to seek help for her mind." He looked at them seriously. "She is mentally broken. He damaged her…her very essence. I'm sorry if this sounds dire or dramatic, but it's true. She's a shell of herself, guys. She needs support, needs to be built up, but also needs patience and understanding. You all need to realize this won't be fixed overnight. They say it takes one thousand positive comments to make up for one negative. We need to give her time, but we also can't let her give up or feel like she has no one again. It's a hard balancing act, because she's an adult and she can fight back. I'm not a therapist, but I do recommend she stay with someone while she recovers from both the mental and physical pain she's in. I also recommend setting something up with Archie; have him come here if need be."

Regina gave a nod and put a note in her phone. "I'll take care of that, Snow. You focus on Emma."

"Thank you, Regina." Snow, who looked so exhausted after hearing all this, looked to Whale. "When can we bring her home?"

"Hopefully tomorrow. None of her injuries are cause for her to stay here too long. She's got a few stitches in her arm and she's in pain, but by tomorrow, she should be hydrated enough to go home…well wherever she can go where she's not alone. I really do not want her alone and if that's an issue with her, I'll be more than happy to tell her that I will not release her unless she swears someone will be there with her."

There was a knock at the door and a nurse peaked in. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, Dr. Whale, but there's a problem."

"She's my wife! She belongs to me and you will let me see her!"

Everyone froze except for Henry, who stood with his hands balled into fists. David put a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here. Please, Henry."

"David wait!" Snow called, but it was too late. David was out of the room in a flash. He saw Killian and grit his teeth. "You shouldn't be here."

Killian gave a cocky grin. "Hello, daddy. I'm surprised you're here. I thought you and Mommy Dearest forgot all about your worthless daughter."

"Killian Jones. You are under arrest." Ruby said as she had just come through the doors. Since Emma had resigned and the town grew, She and Leroy were both deputies at the station. She went to cuff Killian who laughed.

"Arrested? For what?"

"Assault for one. More charges will be brought as we learn more." Ruby went to cuff him, but he pulled back.

"I know my rights. I didn't do anything. The bitch did it to herself. Ask her. You can't arrest me because she won't press charges – not if she knows what's good for her."

Ruby bit her lip and looked at David. Killian had a point. Dr. Whale came over and glared at the pirate. "She is pressing charges and with all the medical evidence I already have, I'd say they can charge you with assault, attempted murder, torture, false imprisonment and more. You're going down, Pirate."

David looked at Whale. "She's really pressing charges?"

He nodded. "I asked her just now. She's sick of this and done with him."

"Good." David said with a nod. "Ruby, if you please?"

"With pleasure." Ruby handcuffed Killian, removing his hook, and lead him out to the car where Leroy was waiting.

Everyone was watching, so no one noticed Emma come out with a nurse. "He's going to kill me." She said quietly before turning back towards her room.

"Emma…" Snow gasped, and the blonde paused.

"If you're not too busy, you can come to my room." Emma looked at the others. "Any of you can but know that I'm not in the mood for a lot of talking."

The group followed, everyone feeling subdued but glad to see Emma wake. Emma got back into her bed and avoided eye contact as the nurse checked her IV.

Henry came over and took Emma's hand, leaning down to look into her eyes. "I love you, mom. We all tried calling you. He did something to your phone, all it would do is ring and ring."

Emma looked at him and then the others. "You did? Really?"

They nodded, Regina taking a step closer. "We all did, Emma. We were all worried."

Snow came to Emma's other side and sat down, taking her free hand. "I'm so sorry, Em. I didn't mean to turn you away. I swear, I was just thinking of keeping you from getting sick. I was so wrong and I'm so sorry."

Emma looked down, too exhausted to even cry. "It's my fault. I'm the one who allowed myself to grow weak and be taken over by him. I let him do this to me. I'm the one who's sorry." She looked at her mother. "I'm sorry. I tried to be good; I really did."

Snow cupped Emma's cheek. "Hush, my love. Don't you dare apologize for him. You are good, Princess, you're so good. You're too good for him. He saw that and used it." She ran her thumb along Emma's cheek. "Baby girl, you rest, okay? Don't sit here and worry and feel guilty. No one is mad at you. We all love you and we're all here for you."

David came over by Snow. "Your mom is right, honey. You just need to rest."

Emma looked at David, suddenly feeling everything hit her. "Daddy, if he gets out, he'll kill me." Her voice was so small and broke David's heart. He didn't deserve to be called Daddy right now.

David kissed her forehead. "We won't let that happen."

"How? He has money…my money. He has total access to my bank account and he made it so I can't take any money without him there. Smee will post his bail." As a town, the residents of Storybrooke had been handling most things the way this world did. Sure, Regina was mayor and Queen over all the realms that resided there, but they also had a court system and their own laws to follow.

Regina wasn't the only one who had been redeemed, Rumple had been voted to be Storybrooke's DA (defense attorney). There were lawyers from all realms along with judges. For the most part, each realm had their own police force with David being head sheriff over all of it. All in all, it had been working quite well.

"Baby, bail won't be set until his first trial. Rumple has 48 hours to formally present the charges and discuss bail and all that with the judge. I'll go to the bank tonight and fix your account. If they can't I'll ask them to at least freeze it. It's your money, not his. Right now, you only need to worry about resting."

Maleficent cleared her throat. She had been standing back to give the family time. "If it makes you feel more at ease, I can put up a protection spell."

Regina gave a nod. "Let's do that."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Maleficent and Regina stood back to back and performed the protection spells.

"Mmm. Smell that magic in the air." They all turned to see Rumple. He had sacrificed his darkness to help defeat his mother, so now he was mortal, and he was much easier to get along with. He now had a heart.

"Rumple. I didn't expect to see you so soon." David stated, shaking his hand.

"Please, I prefer Mr. Gold now. Also, I won't stay long as I understand Ms. Swan needs her rest." He looked at Emma with a bit of a frown. "My sincerest apologies, dearie. I wanted to personally assure you that Killian will remain behind bars for the next couple days at the very least." He brought out some forms. "If you could sign these, I'll have access to your medical records and I can start building a case."

Emma took the forms and tried focusing on them. She closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at Regina. "Can you read these and tell me if you'd sign them? It's still him, after all…no offense, Mr. Gold."

"None taken, my dear. I'm glad you still have your wits about you."

Regina carefully read through the papers. "Mr. Gold, if she signs this, her records are available to any legal office. Is that a must?"

Mr. Gold nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. Medical records would be available to whomever he gets to represent him, should he choose to fight this. If I get access, so do they. However, it won't help his case."

Regina nodded and handed the forms to Emma along with a pen. "If it were me, I'd sign. There's no mention of returning a favor or anything like that. It's perfectly legit."

Emma gave a nod and signed the forms. She handed them back to Mr. Gold and laid her head back. "I'm really sore. If you need anything else today, please just ask my parents or Regina. I give them full permission to do anything on my behalf."

"I understand, Emma. I'll come by tomorrow and see how you feel. I want to keep you up to date with everything and I want you to be a part of it and have your say. I also have to know the full story and I know that won't be easy, but it must be done at some point."

Emma nodded and gave a small smile. "Thank you. I do understand, and I just need to rest before I can go into the details."

Maleficent came over and put her hand on Emma's. "I'm going home, dear. I'm so glad you're okay. Please call me any time you want or need to talk. I'm here for you, dear. You're not alone."

Emma smiled softly at her. "Thank you. I'll remember that. Tell Lilly I said hi."

"I will if you promise you'll call her as soon as you're up to it. She misses you."

"I will. I promise."

Maleficent and gold both left, and Regina suddenly felt like she should go too, though she really didn't want to. She had so much she wanted to say to Emma. "I guess should…"

"Do you have to go?" Emma asked, sitting up a bit. "I mean…I…yeah, I suppose you have to go."

"No, I don't have to go. I just thought you'd want to be with your family."  
Emma shrugged. "I'm sure they have to get Neal from wherever he is." She felt tears in her eyes. "I don't want to be alone." She said quietly. "Can you and Henry stay until I fall asleep?"

Regina looked at Snow and David as if for permission. "I would be glad to, if it's okay with you two."

Snow looked at Emma, an internal battle in her head. "Are you sure? Ella has Neal and can keep him overnight if you want us to stay with you."

Henry knew that Emma thought of Regina as a friend, maybe even more, and didn't want anyone controlling her anymore – even if it wasn't their intention. "It's up to you, mom. You can decide who you want to stay with you."

Emma bit her lip. "I don't want to hurt or upset anyone."

"You won't, baby girl." Snow assured her. "I promise you won't."

Emma nodded. "Can Henry and Regina stay? Just until I fall asleep?"

Regina smiled softly. "Of course we can. However, we'll stay all night. If you don't want to be alone, you won't be."

Emma was too tired to argue. "Thank you." She looked at her parents. "Thank you for being here, but please go get Neal and be with him. He's a child and needs you more."

Regina and Henry stepped away so David and Snow could come closer to the bed. David put his hand over Emma's. "Are you sure? Emma, we can stay too. You need us just as much, if not more than Neal right now, and we don't mind. We love you."

Emma took a deep breath. "I know, but there's not enough room and there's no need for you not to sleep." The full truth was that she was starting to hurt again all over and she didn't want her parents to see that. "Come back in the morning?"

Snow nodded and kissed Emma's forehead. "We'll be back first thing. I love you, Emma. I love you so much." Tears filled her eyes and Emma reached to wipe them away.

I love you too, mom." She then looked at David. "I love you too, dad. I'm sorry it's come to this and that I've been so weak."

He kissed her forehead. "I want you to stop apologizing. None of this is your fault. I love you so much. I can see you're tired, so we'll talk more tomorrow, but I want you to know that you are more than good enough for all of us. Now res, Emma, and know that we've got you. You're not alone."

Snow and David each kissed Emma once more before hesitantly leaving. "Oh David. All I wanted to do was get in that bed and hold her. I don't want to leave her."

David put his arm around his wife. "I know, hone. But, she's in good hands. I trust Regina far more than I ever trusted Killian."

"Why did we let her marry him? Neither of us trusted him or even liked him."

David sighed. "We trusted Emma. We wanted her to finally be happy and we thought she was. Maybe we were wrong to hold back, but neither of us wanted to take her happiness away."

"Ether way, we'd have lost. If we talked to her about how we felt, she'd have been mad and cut us out. Either way, this was the end result."

"She comes first now, Snow. She was acting strong, but we need to be there to build her up. I'm tired of failing her."

Snow nodded her agreement. "I know, me too. She comes first."

They went and got Neal and made arrangements for them to drop him off with Ella the next morning. Ella offered to keep him over night, but Snow and David wanted him home that night. "Maybe in a few days when we know more. We want to have at least a couple days to focus on Emma, but it depends on her too."

"Tell Emma I send my love and that I'm here for her."

"I will. She needs to hear that people love here."

Even though Emma had been yearning to be with her parents, she felt a bit relieved when they left. No matter what they said, she still felt not good enough, guilty, and like a burden to them. She had never felt like that before Killian got to her…well, at least not as strongly.

Regina looked at Emma and sat down, flicking her wrist to make the bed a little bigger so Henry could lay by his mother. "Do you need anything, Emma? Water or something to eat?"

Emma winced as she shifted. "Any chance you have a healing potion in your back pocket?"

"I wish. But once all the evidence is taken, I will heal what I can, Emma. I swear I will. Until then, you'll have to push that button there to get some relief from the pain." She said, pointing to the button the nurse had pointed out would give Emma some pain medication.

"They took so many pictures." Emma said quietly, pushing the button. "All of me is on film. Every bruise, mark, scar, they saw it all. With every picture I felt more and more shame." Tears filled Emma's eyes. "How did I let this happen?" She whispered to no one in particular.

Regina wiped her own brown eyes. It saddened her to see Emma like this. "Henry? Can I have a moment with your mom?"

Henry sniffed and nodded. "I'll go home and pack us an overnight bag."

Regina handed him her keys. "Be careful."

He kissed Emma's cheek. "I love you, Ma. I'll be back."

"I love you too." She said, wiping her eyes.

Henry hugged Regina and headed out.

Regina closed the door behind him and came over to Emma, sitting on the side of the bed. She took Emma's hand and kissed it. "You should not feel ashamed, Emma Swan. Your marks, bruises, and scars do not show weakness, they show strength."

Emma scoffed and looked away, but Regina cupped her cheek and locked eyes with her. "For the second time in your life you survived abuse. This time, however, you fought back. This time, you will see justice and it will be on your side, unlike when you were a child." Regina shifted and took Emma's hands. "This time, you're not alone. You'll never be alone again, Emma."

"Why are you being so nice to me? I'm the reason Robin is dead. You're supposed to hate me."

Regina sighed. "That was not your fault and it was so long ago. Honestly, Emma, I'm sad he's dead, but we wouldn't have lasted. I can look back and see that now."

"Why not? He made you happy. I could see that when I came back from New York. It's why…" Emma stopped and looked way, not finishing her sentence.

"I thought I was happy; maybe in some ways I was. However, I still had feelings for someone else and I think even he knew that wouldn't change."

Emma looked at her. "Regina, I get that Daniel was your true love and I can't imagine the loss you felt, but…"

"It's not him, Emma. It was hard, but I've let him go." Regina interrupted.

"Then who?" Emma asked, utterly confused.

Regina looked at the blonde and smiled softly. "You, you idiot." She said in her affectionate way. "Before you and henry left for New York, before that curse, I wanted to tell you but I knew you'd lose the memory. In the Enchanted Forest, I never forgot you, but I admit, I saw how Killian felt and heard you had kissed him and I told myself to get over you. Easier said than done."

Emma was quiet and listened to this surprising confession. If Regina could be so honest, couldn't she? "Regina, I…"

"I know. I'm sorry. This isn't the time."

"No, Regina it's not that. Yes, I kissed Killian when we were in Neverland but…but it was you I wanted to kiss. You were just so…"

"Unapproachable? I know. It was so hard there because obviously we wanted to get Henry, but also my feelings for you were growing and I didn't know how to deal with that."

"I get it. I regretted kissing him the minute I did it. When he came to New York, it was the potion that made me remember, not his kiss. I was going to come back here and tell you how I felt, how I dreamt about you even when I couldn't remember who you were. How I…but you were with Robin and you were happy and I loved seeing you happy. I didn't want to take that away from you." Emma sighed and closed her eyes as her head pounded and the medication started making her tired.

"Emma, we can talk later." Regina stated, gently laying her hand on Emma's arm.

Emma let out a sigh as the medication made her head go fuzzy. "I know this isn't the right time, but Regina, I wanted and needed you to know that I love you. I always have."

Regina watched as Emma fell into a medicated sleep. She wondered how much the blonde would remember when she woke. It didn't matter though, for Regina would remember. Regina would be by Emma's side through everything to come.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

Chapter 2

No one got much sleep that night in the hospital. Between Henry's snoring and Emma's whimpering, Regina gave up trying to sleep and just did some work on her phone in the brief moments there was peace. She wanted to cry every time Emma would lash out thinking Killian was attacking her. She honestly hated to think of what life had been like for the blonde.

The second time Emma pushed Henry out of the bed, and apologized profusely, he decided to sleep on the small couch in the room and Regina sat next to Emma in the bed.

"I'm really sorry, Henry. The dream was so real, I thought it was him."

"It's okay, Ma. Please stop apologizing. It's his fault; he did this to you."

"Still. I'm sorry." She said quietly, wondering how many more apologies she'd have to make because of things he did. Emma gingerly moved to her side and pulled and extra pillow towards her to hug it. Tears silently fell from her closed eyes and Regina's heart broke.

Regina laid on her side, facing Emma, and pressed her forehead to the blonde's forehead. Her thumb gently stroked Emma's cheek. "It's okay, Emma. I've got you."

Emma didn't say anything, but Regina felt the blondes arm around her, holding her as if Regina were her personal lifeline. Maybe she was; maybe she didn't care.

The next thing Regina knew, she heard a throat being cleared softly. She opened her eyes and saw the saddest dark teal eyes she had ever seen. It was amazing to her how Emma's eyes could change in color depending on her mood, the weather, and what she was wearing. Right now, they looked as sad and depressed as ever and Regina wanted so badly to change that.

"Morning." Emma said softly, pulling her arm away from around Regina as if she did something wrong.

Regina gently held Emma's wrist, assuring her without words that it was okay. "Did you get any sleep?"

Emma nodded softly. "Yes, thank you."

"You don't have to thank me, Emma."

"I do though. My nightmares stopped once you laid with me. I figured you used your magic."

Regina shook her head. "Not yet. I want the doctor's approval before I do anything, but I do plan on healing you, Emma. As soon as I can."

"Oh good, you're both awake." Henry said as he came into the room "Ma, I got you some coffee and Mom, I'll get you a cup when I go tell Grandma and Grandpa that Ma is awake. I wasn't sure I could carry two cups and open the door, and they didn't want to wake you if you were still sleeping."

Right, Regina thought, Emma's family. She stood up and stretched.

"Are you leaving?" Emma asked, sitting up too fast with fear in both her eyes and voice.

"No, Em. I'm going to use the bathroom. I won't leave until you ask me to." She said soothingly. Emma nodded and laid back, taking the coffee from Henry.

"Thank you, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to drink it."

"I asked the nurses and they said you can. They said you need to eat too, so I thought I'd go to Granny's for you if you didn't like anything they had here." He sat down as Emma took a sip of the coffee.

"That's very sweet, Henry, but I don't really feel much like eating. My jaw hurts along with the rest of my body." Emma took a breath, she wasn't used to admitting she was in pain. "Maybe you should tell your grandparents that I'm awake."

"Okay, Ma." Henry kissed her forehead before he went to get them.

Emma put her coffee down and moved to sit up. Regina came out as Emma was sitting on the edge of her bed. The blonde winced with pain and held her side. Regina came over and put an arm around her. "Let me help you."

Emma felt tears of embarrassment and shrugged Regina off. "I can do it. I'm not an invalid." She snapped, a bit harsher than she intended to.

"I know you're not, Emma, but you are hurting, and you are my friend. Please let me help you."

Emma sighed as she stood. "I'm sorry I snapped. I'm okay and I want to do this by myself."

Regina put her hands up. "Okay, fine." She then went to sit as Emma shuffled to the bathroom.

Henry came back with Snow and David and some coffee for Regina.

"She's in the bathroom." Regina explained. "Didn't want any help."

"Still our stubborn Emma." David said as he sat down. "How was she last night?"

Emma could hear muffled voices as she stood in the bathroom washing her hands. She finally looked in the mirror ad her heart sank at what she saw. Her face was white with bruises of all colors covering it. Her eyes had dark rings around them and her hair looked dead. She didn't need or want to take her shirt off to see the brokenness hid under it. Carefully, she washed her hands and face before going back out to the room. She tried to hide her pain as she made her way to her bed. "Morning." She mumbled to her parents.

"Good morning, Emma." Snow said, smiling softly at her daughter. "Did you sleep okay?"

Emma gave a shrug, but before she could lie, she saw Henry watching her. No more lying. "Not really. Bad nightmares. I kicked Henry out of the bed a couple times." She looked down; ashamed.

"I told you it's okay, Ma. You were sleeping, you couldn't help it."

"Well maybe once you're in a more comfortable bed, you'll sleep better. We've got our guest room all set up for you." David said happily. "Your mom and I worked on it all night. We figured you'd want to stay away from stairs for a while, so we converted the downstairs office into a room for you." Most of the bedrooms in their new farm house were on the second or third floor, but they worked hard to make the mostly neglected first floor office into a bedroom for Emma. "You'll even have your own bathroom."

"Oh. I um…I didn't know I'd be staying with you." Emma said, playing with her fingers. The thought of being a burden played heavily on her mind.

Snow saw the panic in Emma's eyes and came to sit on the bed next to her. "Before you think anything, Emma, we want you with us." She put her hand on Emma's. "I know it's going to be hard for you to be back with us, to live with your parents again, but Emma, you'll still have your independence. You can come and go as you please. We did change our locks, but we have a key all made for you." She looked at her daughter and softly tucked some blonde hair behind her ear. "If you want to go back to your house, that's fine, but then one of us will stay with you. Right now, we don't want you to be alone."

Emma thought about that as she chewed her lip. The thought of going back to her house at all, even with someone else, terrified her. "I don't want to go back there. Ever." She said quietly as tears filled her eyes. "Please don't make me go back there."

Snow wrapped her daughter in her arms and rubbed her back. "Never. Baby, you never have to go back there."

Regina grit her teeth as she watched Emma. She was beyond upset seeing what Killian had done to the once so strong blonde. "She's right. Henry and I will go get all of your things packed up for you, so you don't have to do that." She came over and smiled at her friend. "And if you need a break from the two of them, you can always come stay with me."

Emma gave a nod and a smile. "Thank you. It means so much to me that you're all willing to help me out."

Regina sat on the chair. "Don't thank us, Emma. It's what family and friends are for. Besides, in return, you get to do something for us."

"What?" Emma asked, feeling confused.

"You get to get back to the Emma you were before Captain Jerk Face." Regina said, making Emma smile at the name.

"You think I can?"

"I know you can. We'll all help you. In the meantime, though, we need you to not feel like a burden, not think that you're not worth it, or anything like that. We need you to be honest with us, Emma. We need you to see you as we see you."

Emma wiped at her eyes. "I'll try my best, Regina."

"I know you will." Regina looked at Henry. "Should we go now and get it over with?"

Henry nodded and stood up, looking at Emma. "Ma? Is there anything you for sure want, or don't want?"

Emma thought for a bit and blushed. "I really want my baby blanket, my red jacket, and my pictures of all of you. I don't want anything he gave me like jewelry or any pictures of me and him. Henry, you know which necklaces were mine and which he gave me?"

"Yes, I do. If I'm not sure, I'll bring it and you can either keep it or throw it."

Emma nodded. "Thank you. I don't have boxes or anything." She handed Regina her keys.

Regina smiled. "That's what magic is for."

"If Killian went back to the house, I can't say for sure what kind of state it's in."

"Don't worry. I may use my magic to send all his things to his ship. The house is in your name, right?"

Emma nodded. "I never changed that. I don't know why, but I just never did."

"That's good. We'll get rid of his things and sell it. Emma, you'll make good money off it and be able to get a new place all to yourself. With the new realms here, I'm sure there'll be a buyer. But we can talk about that later, baby steps."

"Thank you both. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it." Regina stated, deciding to kiss Emma's forehead. "Let us know if they let you out today." She then looked at David. "Where should we put her things?"

He stood and handed Regina a key. "There's room in the back porch. It's close to her room, so you could put it there for now."

Regina and Henry then left, and Emma was still cuddled with her mom. David came and sat on the other side of her, putting his arm around them both.

"What happens now?" Emma asked, not wanting to face anything. "I haven't given a statement to anyone. I assume I must do that? Relive everything?"

David sighed. "Yes, Emma. Ruby will be here soon to talk to you. I thought maybe you'd be more comfortable telling her than telling me or Leroy. However, if you'd rather talk to someone from one of the other realms, we can do that instead."

Emma shook her head. "No. I'll talk to Ruby. I don't think she'll judge me."

David kissed Emma's temple. "No one will judge you." He took her hand. "Then, after that, we'll see if you can come home. I know you'll be emotionally exhausted, but if you can come home, I'm sure you'd sleep better there."

"I asked Gold not to come around until tomorrow, so you can take a day off, but tomorrow, you'll have to meet with him before he goes in for Killian's pretrial." Snow stated. "I know this is so much, Emma, but we'll be here with you through it all. Your dad and I both took some vacation time because we want to be with you."

"You do? You aren't upset that you're taking time off?"

"No, we are not." David said. "We want to be here for you through it all."

"Thanks, dad."

"You're welcome. Oh, and I called the bank. Your money is safe, his name is off the account and there's no way he can get access to it. They'll send you new debit cards and everything." He looked at his daughter. "Emma, when this is all over, what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you want to come back to work? Do you want to do schooling for something else?"

Emma shrugged. "I miss being Sherriff, if I'm honest, but you're so good at it, and I'm probably not needed."

"You are always wanted, Emma. Needed and wanted. I'd love to share the position with you again." David looked into his daughter's eyes. "I'm not trying to push you. I just think if you have things to work towards, it's easier because you have an end goal."

"Okay, dad." Emma said, trying to hide her yawn.

"I'm sorry, Em. We don't have to talk about this right now. Like Regina said, baby steps."

"It's just so much, dad. I should have left before it got to this point. Now, I have to prove everything and relive it and have people hear it. Unless I just drop it. Maybe he'd just leave."

Snow cupped Emma's cheek and looked at her. "Emma, that is an option, but I really hope you don't take that option. He deserves to be punished and to pay for what he did. I know it won't be fun, it won't be easy, but you won't be alone."

Emma looked into her mother's eyes and nodded. "Okay, mom. Thank you. I may need your little hope speeches every now and then." She looked at her dad. "And I'll need your strength."

Snow ran her fingers through Emma's hair. "You have it, Em. It's still inside you."

"Your mom is right. Princess, just think of everything you went through as a child. You survived, you did everything you had to do and became an amazing adult. The difference is this time, you'll have people there with you."

Emma nodded, sitting back in her bed. "Thank you, guys. I mean it. I can't say it enough."

There was a knock on the door and Emma got nervous thinking it was Ruby but saw Dr. Whale instead. "Good morning, Emma. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." She said, out of reflex. "I mean…I'm in pain, but better than yesterday."

Dr. Whale looked at the Charmings. "Do you mind if I have a quick look at her?"

Emma cleared her throat. "They can stay."

The two moved away but didn't leave the room. Dr. Whale started checking Emma, having her raise her arms and take deep breaths. Emma did her best but winced through a lot of it.

"You're healing nicely, Emma. I know you're in pain, but you really are healing nicely. I know Regina could probably heal most of you, and Maleficent could do the rest, but talk to Gold first. I'm not sure if he'll want more evidence."

Emma let out a sigh. "Honestly, I should just suffer with it."

"Why?"

"Because it's my punishment for letting it get this far."

Dr. Whale sighed and sat across from Emma. "That's not true. Emma, you don't deserve this; no one does. Okay, maybe he does, but you don't. I've seen what he did to you, what you went through before you came here. I've seen what has healed incorrectly and painfully." He put his hand on her knee, comfortingly. "I've seen what you've lost. Emma, you didn't deserve any of that."

Emma looked down and felt her heart hurt. "You know about…the baby?" She asked, in a whisper.

"Yes. You should have come in, Emma. You're lucky you didn't die from an infection."

"I went to someone Killian approved of. She was some kind of witch doctor in the other world."

"Well that explains a lot, but you still had an infection. You'll be okay now, physically, but Emma, I really think you need to see someone for your emotional healing. Dr. Hopper or someone he can recommend that came over from the other realms."

Emma gave a nod, feeling a different type of feeling towards Dr. Whale. "Thank you for caring. I will talk to him. I promise."

He gave her a smile. "You're welcome. We'll get you through this."

He then stood and looked at his chart. "I think that I want you a bit more hydrated and then you can go home. So, I'll come check on your levels in about an hour." He looked at her again. "Are you going back to your house?"

Emma shook her head. "Never again. I'll be going to my parents for a while."

"Good. I don't want you alone. Knowing you, you'll think you're ready to go back to normal a lot faster that you'll actually be ready. Your parents will make sure you don't push yourself."

David grinned. "Yes, and we can say it's Doctor's orders. Thank you, Dr. Whale."

As soon as Dr. Whale left, Ruby came in. "Hey guys. Is now a good time?"

Emma took a breath but nodded. "As good a time as any, I suppose. Do I need a lawyer though?"

"No, Ems. You're the victim, not the suspect. This is just a victim's statement."

Though she meant well, Emma hated being called a victim.

"However, it is best to do this just you and me." Ruby said, giving David a look. "I just…"

"You're doing your job. I'll be more likely to say more without my parents in here than with them. Ruby, I've been in your position before."

"Right. I'm sorry." She looked at David and Snow. "I'll come get you when we're done."

"Thank you, Ruby." David and Snow stood and left the room after kissing Emma's forehead.

Ruby sat in the chair with her notepad out. "So, Emma. We can go at your pace, there's no rush. Tell me when this all started."

As Emma and Ruby talked, Snow paced the waiting room. She wished she could be in the room with her baby and comfort her. David let out a sigh. "Snow, come on. Let's go for a walk. They'll be a bit yet."

Snow gave a nod. "Okay, let's go. Maybe go to Granny's? Emma didn't eat anything, we can bring her back some food."

"Sounds perfect."

Across town, Henry and Regina were in Emma's bedroom, packing her things. "I can't find her baby blanket." Henry said, sighing. "I know that's really what she wants the most."

Regina looked around and closed her eyes as she held out her hand. She felt fabric in her hand and opened her eyes. To her horror, scraps of Emma's blanket were in them. "Oh no." She sunk onto the bed, looking at it.

"Can you fix it?" Henry asked, coming over.

"If this is all of it, I can. If any parts are missing, it won't work."

"Try?"

Regina nodded, closing her eyes again. She did the magic an opened them. "It worked." She smiled as Henry took it and put it to his face.

"It smells like her." He said, carefully folding it. "Now her jacket." He held out the red leather and turned it so Regina could see the scorch mark.

"That asshole." Regina swore and took the jacket. It took a bit of work, but finally, she got the jacket looking like it did before.

"Mom?" Henry asked, looking at his mother. "Will Ma ever be the same as before?"

Regina sighed and took Henry's hand. "I don't know, Henry. You can only glue together a broken glass so many times before it stops looking like it did before, and she's been broken so many times. What I do know is that no matter what, she needs us. She needs love and support even if she can't be the same as she was before."

Henry wiped at a tear. "I know. I'll always be there for her, I just hope she can recover from this. I don't remember the last time I saw her smile."

Regina ran her fingers through Henry's hair. "I know. We'll get her to smile, Henry, I promise."

"Mom? You like her, don't you? I mean, like her-like her."

Regina couldn't stop her chuckle. "Yes, I do like her-like her. But Henry, she's not ready for that. She needs to heal first before she even thinks about a relationship."

"I know, Mom, but I like the idea of her having someone who isn't family, but who loves her and will be there for her. I think you guys should have gotten together a long time ago."

"You do?"

"Yeah, but then Robin came, and Killian came, and everything got messed up. But mom, will you wait for her?"

Regina smiled lightly and kissed his temple. "Henry, there's no one else I'd rather wait for. However, for now, please try not to think about that, okay? We need to focus on your mom getting better."

Emma dried her tears as Ruby closed her notepad. "Thank you for your statement, Emma." Ruby said and then let out a breath, going to her and hugging her. "I'm so sorry, Ems. I just…wow. You're so strong. I know you don't think that now, but you are. You survived all that. If you need anything, Emma, please call me."

Emma hugged Ruby back. "Thank you. I'm trying to believe all that, and it means a lot to hear it from you."

"You're welcome, Emma. I mean it as your friend, I'm here for you."

Emma smiled and nodded, tears in her eyes. "Thank you. I think I forgot how much I need my friends, so I appreciate you reminding me that I still have some."

Ruby smiled, wiping her own tears. "I'm sorry I just can't believe that asshole did all of this to you. I mean, I believe you, but I just…you're such a good person, I don't get it." Emma looked down, not sure how to answer her. Ruby lifted Emma's chin. "We'll get him, Emma. He'll be locked away for a long time."

Emma nodded and hugged Ruby again. "Thank you."

Ruby came out to the waiting room just as David and Snow came back. "You can go in and see her now." She said, still wiping her eyes. "I got everything I need and I want to get it all typed up and get a copy sent to D.A . Gold."

David nodded. "Thank you, Ruby. I know I'm off for a while, but if anything comes up, call me."

"Yes, boss." She said with a grin. "Go see your daughter. After what we just talked about, she'll probably need a good cuddle."

The Charmings went into the room after knocking softly. "Emma? Honey, are you okay?" Snow asked, coming to sit by her.

Emma wrapped her arms around Snow and just held her, letting her mom hold her back. She couldn't talk, she just needed to be held, and Snow was more than happy to do that. Emma smelled the food and felt her stomach rumble.

"Sounds like you're hungry." David said and Snow slowly pulled back.

"We got you some grilled cheese and onion rings. Your favorite."

Emma gave a small smile. Up until a few second ago, she didn't think she could eat. However, now that she could smell the food, she felt so hungry. "That sounds amazing, actually. I didn't think I'd be able to eat, but smelling the food, I can't say no."

David handed Emma the paper bag and she positioned her bed in a sitting position. She took out the sandwich and finished it in maybe four bites. The onion rings were gone soon as well. David grinned. "It's good to see you still have an appetite."

Emma shrugged and blushed. "Sorry. I just…don't remember when I ate last."

"Don't be sorry. Do you want anything else?" Snow asked.

"No. I'm good now. I don't know how well this will settle, to be honest."

There was another knock at the door and Dr. Whale came in. "Hello. Oh, it looks like you finally ate something. Good." He checked her numbers and smiled. "Everything looks great, Emma." He sat down by her and took out her IV. "Now, I'm sending you home with some pain medication and orders to drink water. You're still hydrated, but being you're so…well, thin, you could become dehydrated fast. We don't want that. Healing needs hydration."

Emma nodded. "Okay, Doc. I'll drink lots of water." She looked at her parents. "Can I get a ride with you? I think my car is still out in the woods."

"Your car is at our house and of course you'll ride with us." David stated.

"Yes, Emma I want you to drive only when necessary for the next four days. With the pain medication, and the pain, I just don't want you driving."

"Okay. So, I can get dressed and go home?" She asked, looking at the doctor.

"Yes. I set up an appointment for next week to do a quick recheck. Unless you have Regina heal you, which if you do, let me know."

Emma nodded, still not sure what she wanted to do. Part of her wanted Regina to heal her so she could move on, but the other part of her felt like she should just do what nature intends to do and let her body heal on its own. "Thank you, Doctor. For everything." She looked at him. "Will you have to testify?"

"I hope so." He said, honestly. "I hope I can testify against him. I want him to be locked up for a long time."

Emma swallowed and nodded. "Thank you."

Not long later, the three were at the farmhouse and Emma sat on the sofa while Snow made some hot chocolate. David had gone to get Neal and Emma was staring at the fireplace. She hadn't been able to use her magic in so long, but she wanted to try. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths and then opened them, flicking her wrist. A nice fire blazed and Emma smiled upon seeing it.

"Did you do that?" Snow asked as she put the mugs on the coffee table.

"Yeah, is that okay? I wanted to test out my magic."

"Yes, it's okay. I'm glad that you were able to do that." She sat back and sipped her chocolate. "You're really okay with staying here?"

Emma sipped at her own. "Yes. I may spend a few nights at Regina's now and then, if you don't mind. That way you, dad and Neal still get your time and I can have some time with Henry…and Regina."

Snow nodded and put her hand on Emma's leg. "That's fine with me, Princess. Although, you're welcome to be here as much as you want. You are part of our family, Emma, and we don't expect you to just give us time. You know what I mean?"

"Yes, mom, I know what you mean. But Neal is used to having you and David to himself. I don't want to take time away from him."

"You're a good sister, Emma." Snow stated, she knew Emma was using that as an excuse to see Regina, but she figured she'd let her do that. It didn't hurt anyone, and it made Emma more comfortable. "Speaking of Regina, I wonder how they're getting along with the packing."

There was a noise in the back porch and then Henry came in. "Oh good, you're home. We just finished bringing everything over."

Emma looked over and saw Regina coming in behind Henry. "So…did he ruin everything?"

Henry sighed as he came and sat. "He ruined some things, but Mom was able to fix the important things."

Regina handed Emma her blanket and then hung up her red coat. "You wouldn't even know anything happened to it."

Emma smiled, bringing her blanket to her face and inhaling. "Thank you. I have to say, I figured this was a goner."

"If it would have been, I could have had Granny make you another one." Snow said softly.

"I know, but it wouldn't have been the same." Emma looked at Regina, who was sitting down next to her on the sofa. "How was the house?"

Regina used her magic to produce a cup of tea and took a sip. "A mess, if I'm honest. He had some kind of drunken fit in that house. However, we got all your things out and I changed the locks. I cleaned it all out, and it looks amazing now. There's no rush, but when you are ready, the house will be ready to sell."

Emma smiled and hugged Regina. "Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome." Regina looked at Henry and then at Emma. "I think I'm going to go home now. I'm tired, to be honest."

Emma gave a nod. "I'm sure you are. I know you didn't get much sleep last night and you used your magic a lot today. Go get some sleep, I'll probably do the same."

David then came in with Neal who toddled right over to Emma. "Emmy! Sissy Emmy!" He said and tried to climb up onto her lap.

Emma winced but picked him up. "Hey Neal. How are you?"

"Tired." He said, cuddling into her.

Emma kissed his head. "Want to take a nap with me?"

Snow winced, Neal hated the 'N' word, but to her surprise, he smiled wide. "Yes! I nap with sissy Emmy."

Emma smiled at her two-year-old brother and got up, holding him on her hip. "Okay, say bye to Auntie Gina."

He smiled at her. "Bye bye, Gina."

Emma looked at Henry. "Are you staying here or going with your mom?"

He looked at Regina and then Emma. "Is it okay if I go home? Everything is there, and I have some homework to do."

"Of course, it's okay. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Right after school." He carefully hugged his mom and Neal.

Emma looked at Regina. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"If you want to. I'd love to stop over after you talk to Gold, or while you talk to him. I want to know what's going on with the case."

Emma nodded. "I'll let you know when he comes over." She gave Regina a hug and then hugged her parents before going to her new room in the farmhouse. She and Neal laid down and it didn't take long for either of them to get to sleep.

David sat down and looked at his wife. "He was officially charged today. One count of attempted murder, multiple counts of false imprisonment for every time he cuffed her and made her stay home, multiple counts of assault. There's more, but those are the ones I remember. He's being held with a million-dollar bond, which he cannot pay for. We don't have to worry about him being free for at least until after the trial. However, the evidence is there, and Gold is good. I think this will be the end of Killian."

"I hope so. I don't want him to hurt anyone else like he hurt Emma or hurt Emma again. I am surprised they're charging him with attempted murder."

"I think Gold did that because there's proof. Also, charge with higher charges and maybe he'll settle for the lower ones. Either way, Gold said he's looking at the very least, 15 years. If he gets found guilty on everything, it would be 50 years to life."

"If he only gets 15, she still has to worry about when he's released." Snow sighed. "But that's something to not worry about now. At least this case is getting taken care of. I'm going to start dinner. I want to make something Emma loves. I know you just got home, but would you mind going back out to the store? I'm thinking shrimp and lobster mac and cheese. I have everything except the shrimp and lobster."

"That sounds amazing. I'll be back in a bit."

That night, the family sat down to an amazing dinner and Emma had four helpings of the pasta. Her appetite was back and with it, she was starting to feel more like herself. She did have to take a pain pill, which caused her to get tired, but she fought through it long enough to help clear the table. Then, Snow kicked her out and she sat with her dad watching TV. She fell asleep within minutes and he smiled softly, picking her up and carrying her to her bed. He tucked the baby blanket in with her and kissed her temple. As much as he hated what Killian did to Emma, he was already enjoying having Emma back home.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Ch. 3**

Emma winced as she tried to get dressed. She was even more sore today than the day before, but sometimes healing meant getting worse before getting better. She looked at the bottle of pain pills but shook her head. Gold was coming in about an hour and she didn't want to be in a medicated fog. For the third time, she tried to lift her arms to get her shirt on, but tears filled her eyes as the pain in her ribs and arms stopped her. She tried using her magic, but even that was failing her, and she sat on the edge of the tub in just her bra and underwear as she rests her head in her hands. "Some Savior you are, Swan. You can't even get dressed."

"Emma?" Regina's voice came in after a soft knock on the door. "Your mother asked me to check on you. Are you okay?"

Emma sniffed and wiped her face. "Other than the fact that I suck at life, I'm fine. I'm having a hard time getting dressed and apparently, even my magic doesn't want to help me."

"Can I come in?" Regina asked softly.

"Sure, but please don't look at me with pity. I can't take any more of that."

Regina opened the door and came in, closing it behind her. She looked at Emma and reached to wipe her tears, frowning as the blonde winced. "I wasn't going to…"

"I know." Emma said, taking Regina's hands and pressing them to her face. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be like that."

Regina caressed Emma's cheek and took in her broken body. "Let me heal you. Let me take this all away." She said softly.

Emma shook her head and looked down. "Just help me get dressed? Please?"

Regina gave a nod and used her magic to dress Emma. "Can I brush your hair?"

Emma nodded, picked up her hair brush and took Regina's hand. She went to her room and sat in her chair in front of the vanity her parents put in the room.

Regina took the brush and started brushing the still damp locks. She was gentile and careful as she worked, humming lightly. Emma closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being taken care of.

"Did you take any pain pills?" Regina asked softly.

"No." Emma replied, not opening her eyes. "I don't want foggy medicated brain when Gold is here. I'll take one after he leaves."

Regina started braiding Emma's hair. "Why won't you let me heal you?"

Emma let out a breath. "I don't know that I deserve the easy way out." She said honestly. "I need to remember how I got in this situation so that it never happens again." Emma opened her eyes and looked at her reflection. "I also think it may be better if the judge and jury can see what's left, you know? If I look and act like nothing happened, it may be harder for them to believe."

"I get the last part, Emma, but the first part is not true. You do deserve the easy way out after all you've been through. How about if I heal the pain part of it, the bones, the parts that healed wrong, but leave the bruises?"

Emma looked at Regina's reflection. "I'll think about it." She saw the doubt in Regina's face. "I promise I'll think about it, okay? I'll even talk to you about how I feel, okay?"

Regina gave a soft smile and finished with the braid. She rest her hands on Emma's shoulders. "Good. I'll hold you to that. Emma? Can I ask you something?"

Emma gave a nod. "You can, I can't promise an answer." She said with a bit of a smirk.

"It's just, you're usually so stubborn and bullheaded. I'm surprised you're letting me help you so much and I wondered why?" Regina asked as she sat on Emma's bed and Emma turned to face her.

Emma let out a breath, knowing this question was coming. "Because I trust you, Regina. We've grown to be close friends and I…I missed you when I was basically Killian's prisoner. I know I need help and as much as it pains me to get it, I am trying hard to not push people away. I can't be by myself, I know that. It scares me so much how badly I know I can't be by myself, so I can't be pushing away people who want to help me." Emma sniffed and wiped a tear. "Maybe that makes me weak, and maybe that's okay right now because maybe I need to be weak. Also, it's you." Emma looked at her. "I trust you, Regina. I…like you."

Regina gave a smile, feeling her eyes water. "One thing I need to tell you is that you are not weak. It takes a strong person to admit they need help and that they need others to be with them. I'm also glad you trust me, Emma because all I want to do is help you. I want to make sure you don't break beyond recognition."

"Why?" Emma asked quietly, looking at her.

"Because I li…I love you." Regina said in barely a whisper.

Emma's heart stopped, just for a moment and a small smile hit her lips. "I love you, too." She said quietly. "But I'm not ready. I want to be, but I know I'm not yet." She swallowed. "I want to be fully ready, Regina. Will you wait?"

Regina gave a reassuring smile. "I'd wait forever, Emma. I'm glad you said you aren't ready, that you can admit it, because I agree with you. You need to be healed from this, and I know that will take a while. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"Thank you. I mean it Regina, thank you for everything." Emma said as she stood up. "I should get out there before my mom starts worrying."

The two came out and sat at the table, looking at the food that Snow had set out. Emma was hungry, but also nervous, so she just nibbled on some toast.

"Emma, honey, are you okay?" Snow asked, coming over and kissing her forehead.

"I'm just nervous for this meeting. I'm nervous for this trail. I swear, if I could make him promise to just leave this realm, I wouldn't even be going through with this."

"Ah, but dearie, that wouldn't be a punishment, and he deserves to be punished." Gold stated as he and David walked into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair and sat down, getting out a folder and notepad. "I've gone over your statement to Ruby and Killian's statement. Of course, he's denying everything and has an excuse for it all. Now, we have some things going for us. We have Dr. Whale and his medical findings. Honestly, that's going to be a big part of the case, because unfortunately, no one knew what was going on." He raised a hand. "I'm not blaming you, Emma, simply stating facts. Of course, we can put Henry, your parents, even Regina on the stand to talk about the changes they did recognize. We can put Maleficent on the stand to talk about the magical cuff she took off. I'm still trying to find out where he got that from, so we can use that person as a witness."

"I know where." Emma said quietly. "He told me. He said he got it from Blue. He told her I had asked for it to help with a magical creature from one of the new realms."

"Good. That will help a lot, Emma. Proof that he lied to get what he wanted." Gold noted that down and looked at the blonde. "I'm going to tell you now that we have a bit of a battle. I'm sorry, but I'm only being honest. It's his word against yours, Emma, and unfortunately, he found himself a good lawyer from Wonderland. One who knows how to manipulate and charm people." He put his pen down and took a breath. "I need to ask you something. Miss Swan, how would you feel about using magic to _show_ what happened?"

Emma bit her lip. "What do you mean? Like in a dream catcher?"

"Sort of. A potion that would take your memories and project them for the judge and jury to see."

Emma swallowed, her leg bouncing with nerves. "Would we be able to do that for just the judge and jury? I know that usually we have open court and I just don't know that I want everyone seeing it."

"I can't promise, Emma. I understand where you're coming from and I'd only do this if I felt we needed to. I know it will impact exactly what happened, show the seriousness of it. However, I also understand that this is personal to you, and I respect that. Emma, I'm not going to lie, this will be a battle. It will get personal, there's no way around that. However, I believe in this so much that I am willing to fight this battle with you." He looked at her parents and Regina. "She's going to need support. She's going to need people to help keep her positive."

Snow reached over and took Emma's hand. "We've got her. We've both taken time off work to be with her through all this."

"Gold, I have to ask. This potion you speak of, how do you propose to get his lawyer to allow it? They're going to say you tampered with it somehow. I can't make it, or they'll say the same thing."

"We have Blue, Maleficent, we have others from other realms as well who can make it. If we go that route, I'll work closely with the judge so that it can't be questioned." He looked at Emma. "We start the process of picking jury members on Monday, so you have the full weekend to relax."

"Do I need to be there for that?"

"No, but you can be if you want to be." He looked through his notes. "Like I said, we're going to focus a lot on your medical information that Whale found. Your x-rays showing old injuries and all that."

"About that. Regina offered to heal me, but I can't help but think it would be better to show them I still have injuries from him. Even if I'm tempted to let her do it, I was thinking that if they see me all healed and fine, they'd question how bad it really was."

"Unfortunately, I think you're right, Emma. Now, I'm not saying she can't use magic to help your pain, but I think it's best that the jury see your injuries." He looked at her. "Also, as you mentioned, it is important how the jury sees you. I know your partial to your contacts, but wearing your glasses, your hair plain, and some plain clothes will help also. I hate to say this, because it goes against _everything_ I know and believe in you, but you need to look like a victim. I know you're strong and I know you hold things in, but if you feel the urge to cry, please don't fight it while we're in the courtroom. Emma, it's real and it's what they need to see."

Emma took a deep breath. "I understand what you're saying, and I appreciate it. I will try. I hate showing my weakness, but I will try, I promise. Also, I want to talk to Henry before we for sure put him on the witness list. He's a child, well a minor at the very least, and I want to be sure he's comfortable with this." She looked at Regina. "I also want to make sure you're okay with him doing that."

"Of course, I am. He is an amazing witness for you. As your son, he saw the changes in you. I know it may hurt you, but Emma, it is what it is, well was what it was, and if he can say what he saw, it will help. I can say so much, and so can your parents, but if they can hear from a minor, your child, that makes a difference."

"Still, I want to talk to him and make sure he knows he doesn't have to do this if he doesn't want to."

Gold finished his notes. "I think we're all set then, Emma. Once we're closer to the date that you'll be taking the stand, I want to have a practice run with you. I'll be doing the same with everyone else, but when it's your turn, I want it to just be me and you. Now, I will warn you that I will be hard on you and I need you to not take it personally. I'll only be doing it, so you'll be ready for his lawyer. You'll cry, you'll get mad, you'll maybe yell, but Emma, I promise you it will only make you stronger."

Emma nodded. "I figured that would be part of this. I've seen enough court shows. Do you know who the judge is?"

"Aslan from Narnia."

"Wait, isn't he a lion?"

Gold couldn't help but chuckle. "He can turn into one, but don't worry, he will be in his human form. He is very fair. I'm so glad we got him."

"Is there any way you can make this so it's a closed court?" Emma asked.

"I can request it, but I can't guarantee that."

"Will you request it?"

"I will, Emma. As soon as I get back to the office today. Are there any other questions you have for me?"

Emma thought a bit and shook her head. "I don't think so."

"If you think of anything, any time day or night, just call me. You are my priority, Emma." He said as he packed his things up, and weirdly, she believed him.

"Thanks. I really do appreciate it."

After he left, Emma sighed as she slumped in her chair. She felt exhausted, even if she was only up for a few hours. "This is going to get rough. I really hope I can stay strong through all of this." She said, taking the mug her mother gave her.

"You will, Emma. We'll be here with you and for you." Regina stated, taking her other hand. "I think you need to take your pain pills and get some rest. You're still healing, and I know you were hurting when I came in by you this morning. Or, you could let me take your pain away. It is temporary, but you won't have that medicated fog."

Emma thought about it. "Okay, but can we talk first…alone?"

Snow looked at David who couldn't hid a little grin. "It's fine, I think we'll take Neal out for a bit."

Regina and Emma went to Emma's room and sat on the edge of her bed. "Regina, I told you I'd talk to you about you healing me. You heard what Gold said, and I agree with him. Even if you healed the pain and not the bruises, it would be obvious that I wasn't in pain. However, I will let you temporarily take the pain away, if you will. I used to be addicted to pain pills once upon a time, and I'm scared for it to happen again. I've not told anyone that before, so please don't share that information."

Regina took Emma's hand. "Thank you for sharing that with me." She leaned over and pressed her forehead to Emma's, sending magic through to her. "That should help with the pain for the next few hours. If you're up to it later, Maleficent and Lily would like to visit with you. Either here, or at their place, or my place, where ever."

Emma gave a nod, suddenly feeling more tired. "That sounds nice. Maybe your place? Regina, I'm so tired."

"Lay down." Regina said, using her magic to change Emma into more comfortable clothes. "Sleep. I'll be here when you get up."

Once Emma was asleep, which didn't take long, Regina went out to the living room and made some phone calls. She had closed town hall for the time being, but her assistant was there, going through everything and so she called her to see if anything important came in. She had a few emails that she had to go through, but nothing too big that couldn't be taken care of later.

Snow and David came home with Neal and while David went to put him to bed, Snow sat down to talk to Regina. "Regina? I don't mean to get personal, but I want to thank you for being here for Emma. She needs someone other than family to be on her side. She also needs someone, like you, who cares about her and can show her what she has to live for."

Regina looked at Snow, wondering how she knew her feelings. "I…only want the best for her, Snow. She has been through way too much in her life."

"You care about her, Regina. I'm not blind. I also know she cares about you. I know you two have feelings for each other and I sincerely hope that one day, you'll both be ready."

Regina looked down. "Thank you. I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait for her." She looked up at Snow. "She's worth waiting for. I wish I had realized that before, when she was in New York. I wish…I wish I'd have listened to my heart and not my head. I could have prevented all of this." Regina wiped a tear as Snow moved closer to her.

"Regina, we can't look back and say could have, would have, should have. We can't even look ahead and plan anything. What we do is live for today, do what we can now and what you're doing is exactly what both of you need. You're the last person to blame for all this, and the last person Emma would blame, so don't you dare blame yourself."

"It's not that I blame myself, it's just that if I had followed my heart, maybe she wouldn't have been with Killian."

"Or maybe she would have. Maybe neither of you were ready yet, and that's why it didn't happen. Regina, you can't know what would have been, you can only know what you plan to do now. Emma taught me that. After the curse broke and we had a heart to heart and I blamed myself for everything that happened to her in her life, she told me I couldn't do that. She reminded me that we don't know what would have happened if I was able to come with her, or if she never came here at all. She said there was no point in looking at the past, only to live from that day forward. It's hard sometimes, even for her, but we try our best."

"How did she get so smart?" Regina asked with a small grin. "Surely not from you idiots."

Snow chuckled. "There's the Regina I've come to love." She put her hand on Regina's. "Just know that David and I fully support what ever may or may not happen…though we're both pretty sure it will happen eventually."

"Thank you." Regina said, taking a deep breath. She then told Snow of her plans with Emma for the afternoon and Snow agreed that Emma probably needed to get out of the house for a while. "I'll be back later. I want to get Henry from school. Please have Emma call me when she's ready and if she decides not to, that's fine too."

"Okay, Regina. Thanks again for being here."

Regina picked up Henry from school and the two of them talked as they walked home. He stated he wanted to take the stand, that he'd do anything to help his mom out. She told him that Mal and Lily would be coming over and it was up to him if he wanted to stay, but being it was Friday, he could go out with friends too. He decided he'd go to his friend's house, but said he'd be home the next day so he can spend it with Emma.

Regina got a call from Emma and smiled. "Hey, you feeling okay?"

"Yes, thanks. I'd like to get out of this house for a while."

"Say no more." Regina said and used her magic to bring Emma to her.

"Geez, what if I was peeing or something?" Emma said, hanging up her phone.

"Well I'm glad you weren't." Regina chuckled and handed Emma a soda, knowing she wouldn't want to drink. "Mal and Lilly are on their way and Henry decided to get out of 'Woman's world' tonight. He wants to spend tomorrow with you."

"Oh good. I was wondering if he was avoiding me."

"No, not at all. He's giving you space to heal, but he wants to see you, I promise." Regina went started making some food. "Do you need more magic for the pain, Em?"

Emma smiled softly at the name. "Maybe in a bit, but I'm okay for now. Do you need any help?"

"No, just sit and relax."

Emma sat on a stool at the counter and ran her finger along the tiles. She couldn't believe how much had changed in such a short time. She was no longer a prisoner, no longer getting beat or yelled at or degraded. She was free, and she liked it…a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Ch. 4**

Emma was enjoying her time with Regina, just talking and laughing with her. Though her parents were amazing through all of this, she was glad to get out of the house for a while, glad to not constantly think about what had transpired and what was yet to come. However, that changed with Lilly and Mal came, as Emma expected it would.

"Emma! Oh Emma, how are you?" Lilly asked, coming over and hugging the blond gently. "I can't believe this. I can't believe I didn't know this was happening. I'm so sorry I'm such a shit friend, Emma."

Emma shook her head as she hugged Lilly back. "It's okay, Lil. It's not your fault. You're not a shit friend at all. I hid it, he made me hide it."

"Emma Swan do not go blaming yourself. I won't have that."

"Well, Lilly, I won't have you blaming yourself either." Emma gave her friend a look.

"Fine, then we'll blame who really is to blame. Killian." Lilly said, giving a nod. "You're taking him to court, right?"

Emma gave a nod. "I don't have much of a choice, honestly. It's what everyone wants."

Mal came over and put an arm around Emma, hugging her softly. "It's what you want, Emma, or you wouldn't be doing it. I know you and I know you're scared, but if you didn't want to do it, you wouldn't."

Emma couldn't argue with that. "You're right. I guess a part of me does want to see him punished, I'm just…the trial scares me."

Mal nodded her understanding. "I'm sure it does. Gold reached out to me to be a witness for the cuff that was on you. There's not much I can say about it other than you couldn't have done it yourself and how it drained you of more than your magic. But, if it helps, I want to do it. I also want to talk about how we found you. I know it's going to be hard, Emma, but it is what needs to be done." Maleficent looked at Regina. "This is when I wish we were in the old world. It would be so easy to just take him out."

Regina let out a laugh. "I agree. I've thought a lot about how good it would feel to crush his heart, believe me."

"So have I." Emma admitted quietly. "So many times, I had thought about it. Sometimes I wish I had done it. It would have been worth it."

Lilly put a hand on Emma's arm. "You're too good, Emma. That's why you didn't. That's not a bad thing."

Emma gave a shrug. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Yes, we can." Regina said as she put food on the table. "Let's eat."

Although Emma was enjoying her time, a few hours later, she felt exhausted. Her body was still healing, and it was starting to get sore again. She tried hiding a yawn but failed miserably."

"Would you like us to take you home?" Maleficent asked.

"No, I'll be okay, but thank you." Emma said as she sat back on the sofa. "I mean, if you don't mind me staying a little longer, Regina?"

"Of course, I don't. Let me see these two out and I'll be right back."

Emma hugged Mal and Lilly and then rest her head on the back of the sofa she was still sitting on. When Regina came back, she came and sat by Emma, taking in the deep bruises on her neck. It took all she had to not heal them.

"Emma? Did you bring your pain pills?"

"I didn't exactly have time, remember? Someone poofed me over here."

Regina chuckled. "That's right. Can I do what I did earlier for you and take the pain away?"

Emma licked her lips and turned her head to face Regina. "Please?"

Regina softly touched Emma's bruises and used her magic to temporarily take the pain away. Emma sighed as she felt it leave her body, her energy seemingly going with it. "Regina? Would it be rude of me to ask if I can stay here tonight? I'm just so tired, but I'm enjoying a chance of scenery."

"No, it's not rude at all. I have the guest room all set up actually. I've had it set up since you were in the hospital, just in case." She stood and reached for Emma's hand. "Come on. I'll get you all tucked in. Plus this way, you'll be here to spend time with Henry tomorrow."

Emma took Regina's hand and went up the stairs with her. "Is he coming home tonight?"

"No, but he'll be here in the morning."

"That's okay. I've been having nightmares and I don't want to scare him." Emma stated as she sat on the guest bed.

Regina frowned and sat down next to her. "Nightmares? About what happened?"

"That and about the trial." Emma sighed. "For some reason, it's also brought back memories of my past experiences and I have nightmares about that too."

"Emma, if you have any tonight, please call for me. I want to help you through it."

Emma sighed. "You'll know, Regina. I think I've been waking my parents up ever since I've been home. I don't mean to, but I can't keep quiet apparently."

"You don't have to be quiet. If you're having nightmares, you can't help it, Emma. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Emma shook her head. "I don't think so. Well, not for the nightmares, but do you have extra pajamas I could borrow? If my magic was cooperating, I'd get my own from my room at my parents, but it's not lately."

"That's because you're healing. It'll come back, Emma." Regina said as she stood. "I'll be right back."

Emma nodded and laid on top of the bed as she waited for Regina. The bed was soft and comfortable, and she found herself falling asleep before Regina came back in. She did, however, hear her and her eyes snapped open as the brunette used her magic to change her. "Thank you." She mumbled.

"You're welcome. You do know the bed is warmer if you go under the covers, right?" Regina asked with a smirk.

"Yes, I was just going to wait until you got back so I could change. I didn't know you'd do that for me." Emma said as she sat back up and shifted the covers. "Thank you so much for getting me out of the house today. I feel like I'm going to be thanking you for a lot in the days to come."

"You don't have to thank me for anything, Em. This is what friends do. Now, get some sleep. If you start feeling pain, please let me know." Regina stated as she tucked the covers up over Emma.

"Thank you, Regina." Emma stated, unable to keep her eyes open.

Regina turned the light off and left the door just a crack open before going into her own room.

Emma slept soundly and peacefully for a couple hours. Then, her dreams turned into a horrible nightmare and not only Killian, but foster parents from her past were coming after her. She felt hands around her neck and she tried to scream out and lash out and stop them.

"Emma…Emma honey, it's just me. Shh. I've got you, Emma. You're safe." Regina's voice broke through Emma's nightmares and she felt her arms around her. Regina softly rocked Emma as she held her tightly from behind. She whispered comforting words into the blonde's ear and was glad to feel her start to relax. "That's right, Emma. You're okay. You're safe." She cooed and felt Emma grip at her arms, holding them in place.

"Don't leave me." Emma whispered through her tears. "Stay with me, please."

"I'm not going anywhere, Emma. I've got you." Regina whispered back. She could feel Emma shaking and her heart broke for the blonde. She didn't know if Emma was scared or crying or both. "Emma, it's okay."

"No it's not okay!" Emma said, her anger coming through. "Why, Regina? Why? Why do people think it's okay to hurt me? What makes me less of a person than anyone else?" Emma sniffed and sat up, tears streaming down her face. "What made it okay for my foster parents to hurt me? What made it okay for Neal to use me, turn his back on me, and betray me? What made it okay for Killian to berate me, degrade me, abuse me, even rape me?" Emma finally was letting it all out and while it made Regina sad, she was also glad the blonde was letting it out.

"Nothing, Emma. Nothing makes any of that okay."

"I'm a person! I have feelings! I have emotions and a heart and soul." Emma let out between sobs. "What gave them the right to treat me like trash?"

Regina took Emma's hands. "Nothing, Emma. Nothing gave them that right. That's why you're fighting back. That's why you're going through with the trial. You're showing Killian that he had no right to do this to you, that he will not get away with it." Regina moved her hands to cup Emma's cheeks. "You can cry and yell all you want. I think it's good for you. However, you will not let them make you think you deserved it. Emma, you're right, they had no right. You are a person, a wonderful person. It's not your fault they refused to see that."

Emma was still crying, but not as angry anymore. She softly pulled away from Regina and hugged her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry I yelled at you." She said quietly as she lay her head on her knees.

"Emma, you have nothing to be sorry for. You were mad, scared, upset. I know you weren't yelling at me because you were mad at me. Emma, I'm here for you. Yell, scream, cry, hell, smash up everything in this room if it'll make you feel better." Regina reached over and ran her fingers through Emma's messy hair.

Emma looked at Regina and sighed. "I'm tired. I just want to sleep." She took Regina's hand. "Will you maybe just hold me? Just until I fall asleep?"

Regina nodded and laid down, waiting for Emma to lay down with her. With her back to Regina, Emma laid down and curled up. Regina wrapped her arms around her and nuzzled her nose into her hair. "I've got you, Emma, I'll stay with you."

It didn't take long for both women to fall asleep, and finally, Emma was able to get peaceful sleep. When she woke the next morning, she was disappointed to feel that she was alone. However, she couldn't stop her smile when she smelled coffee and bacon. After stopping in the bathroom, she went downstairs and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Making me breakfast, Madam Mayor?"

"How observant of you, Miss Swan." Regina said with a smirk. "Eggs or pancakes?"

Emma thought for a moment. "Eggs, over easy please. I'll make some toast; would you like some?"

"I would, thank you."

The two of them worked side by side and Regina couldn't help but feel that she really liked this. She knew not to push anything as Emma was far from ready, but it was nice. After the two ate, Emma volunteered to clean up, however, Regina told her to rest as she was still recovering. Emma was about to argue when Henry came in.

"He mom. Ma, I didn't know you'd be here." He said, hugging Regina and then Emma. "Did you stay the night?"

"Yeah. After our company last night, I was too tired to go home. I like the change in scenery as well. I heard you wanted to spend time with me today?"

"Yes. I know I haven't been around, and I'm sorry, but I'd love to spend time with you today."

"What do you want to do first? Ride horses or go to the amusement park." Emma joked, knowing she couldn't do either of those.

"How about we play Halo?"

"Sounds perfect." Emma looked at Regina. "Would you like to join us?"

Regina was about to decline when she decided she didn't really have anything else to do. "You'd have to show me how."

"Wait. Mom, you're really going to play? I've been trying to get you to play for years."

"Yes, well, I have time today."

It took a while but finally, they had taught Regina how the control worked and the three were shooting aliens and saving the world. Around two, Emma's phone rang and she paused the game. "Sorry, it's my parents. I'll be right back."

She took the phone into the kitchen and talked to them before coming back out. "I guess Gold wanted to know if I was coming to jury selection on Monday."

"Are you going to go?" Regina asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't see why I have to, but Gold thinks it's a good idea if I'm there."

"Emma, I know his past isn't great, but I believe him when he says he has your best interest at hand. Maybe you should be there."

"I told him I'd let him know tomorrow." Emma looked at the two. "Guys, I hate to say this, but I'm really hurting and I'm tired. I think I am going to head home. Henry, please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, Ma. I know you're recovering. Want me to drive you home?" He asked with a grin.

"No but thank you. My dad is picking me up. He was on his way home from shopping anyway." She looked at Regina. "Thank you for getting me out of the house for a while. Also…thank you for your support last night."

"Any time. I mean that, Emma, any time." Regina looked at Henry. "How about some lunch and then we keep playing? This is fun."

Emma smiled at her son and the way he beamed at his other mother. She was about to say something when she saw her dad pull up outside. "If you get bored tomorrow, Henry, I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

"I'll come by and see you tonight, if that's okay. After you get some rest."

"That sounds great." Emma was a bit stiff, but she got up and hugged her son and Regina before heading out to her dad's truck. She was in pain and didn't want to show it, but David could see it. He respected her enough to not get out, but he did offer her help. "It's okay, dad. I got it." She got in and winced. "I'm not going to lie, I may need help getting out."

"Of course, Ems. I'll help you. How was your night last night?"

Emma told him about the visit with Maleficent and Lilly and even told him about her nightmare and how Regina got her through it.

"Emma, when you're feeling better, I think you and I should go out and I'll show you how I let out my anger. It's healthy to get it out, and I have a feeling that through out this trial, you'll need ways to vent your frustration."

"Okay, that sounds good."

Once home, David helped Emma out of the truck and into the house. She sat on the couch and sighed.

"Emma? You okay?" Snow asked as she came into the room.

"Yeah. I just sat down and forgot to get my pain pills. I'm hurting so bad right now. I should have asked Regina to temporarily relieve the pain again."

"I got it, Em." Snow went and got Emma's pills, a pillow and her blanket, and a glass of water. She brought it back and handed the pill and water to her daughter. "Emma, let me take care of you. What ever you need, I can help you. Are you hungry?"

Emma took her pill. "No. Regina made a big breakfast. Mom, I'm sorry. I'm no good at asking for help, you know that. However, I am trying." Emma looked at the pillow and then her mom. "Cuddle? I…I feel better when someone is holding me."

Snow smiled sadly as she wanted to take care of her daughter but hated that she was going through this. She sat down and put the pillow on her lap, so Emma could lay her head on it. When she did, she started running her fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. "Just sleep, Emma. I'll stay here as long as you sleep."

Emma cuddled with her blanket and closed her eyes. "Thanks, Mama."

Snow smiled as she watched her baby girl drift off to sleep. She knew they had a hard road ahead of them, but she'd be with her every step of the way.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Chapter 5**

Once Emma was asleep, Snow turned the tv on low. She meant what she said and would stay here while Emma slept. She continued to mover her fingers through her daughter's hair, wishing she had magic to take her pain away. David saw them and decided to take Neal out so that Snow could have this time with Emma without being interrupted.

About two hours later, Emma groaned as she tried to move, the pain going through her like a dart. Tears filled her eyes and before she could even open them, the tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Oh Emma." Snow said sadly, her own tears filling her eyes. "What can I do baby?" She asked, wiping Emma's tears. "Do you think some ice would help?"

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat. "Mom? Call Regina? I hate to rely on her magic, but it hurts so bad."

"Of course, Emma." Snow moved slightly to get to her phone and dialed Regina's number as Emma winced from the movement.

"Why is it so much worse today?" Emma asked, knowing her mom wouldn't have the answer.

"I don't know, baby. Maybe we should go back to the hospital." Snow said. "Regina? Hi, it's Snow. I'm sorry to bother you but Emma asked me to call you. Regina, she's in so much pain and the pill isn't helping for as long as your magic does."

"Say no more, Snow. I'll be right there."

Before Snow could hang up, much less say her thanks, Regina was in their living room. She looked at Emma and could see the pain, making her heart hurt. She came over to the sofa and knelt in front of it, cupping Emma's cheek. "Hey. Emma, I'm going to take the pain away, but I'm also going to make it so you sleep, okay? You need some good rest; your body needs it."

"But Henry's coming over later."

"Yes, but Emma, you need to rest. You're hurting more than before. Please don't be stubborn."

Green eyes met brown and then Emma nodded. "Okay, but I want to move to my bed first."

Snow and Regina both helped Emma to her room and Regina used her magic to put Emma in the softest, most comfortable pajamas Emma had ever felt.

"Emma, I'm going to call Dr. Whale. I just want to make sure we're not hindering you by not taking you out."

Emma knew her mom was right. "Okay. I understand and agree. Tell him that it's not one specific area really, it's my whole body. Everything hurts, everything feels heavy. I get stabbing pains in my side that take my breath away at least once an hour. My bruises don't look worse, but they feel worse."

"Baby, why didn't you tell us?" Snow asked, helping her daughter lay down. "That sounds more serious than I thought. Maybe we should take you out now."

"I didn't not tell you on purpose. It's just got worse today." Emma said, tears in her eyes. She was scared if she were honest. She didn't want to be back in the hospital.

"I think your mom is right. I will call Whale before I do anything with magic. I don't care if you and Gold think it's best for the jury to see you like this, if this keeps on, I'm healing you."

Emma didn't argue as she lay in the bed, she knew that right now there was no point to. Regina left to call Dr. Whale and Snow sat on the bed by her daughter. "Maybe she's right, Emma. Whale is going to testify to your injuries, we're going to testify to your injuries. The jury can know that you were healed because your injuries were so bad, so painful, that you needed to be healed."

Emma couldn't stop her silent tears as she lay in the bed with her eyes closed. She listened to her mom's words and felt her hand on her own. She covered it and let out a breath. "Why am I so weak?" She asked, even her voice sounding weak.

"Oh Emma. My baby girl, you are not weak." Snow said, blinking as her own tears fell. "You are the strongest women, the strongest person I know, Emma. I know it doesn't feel like it now, I know you feel weak and worn out, but you're not. You're so, so strong."

"Your mother is right, Emma. You're not weak." Regina said quietly. "I know you're in pain, but Whale wants to see you right away."

Emma let out a sigh. "Okay." She tried to sit up but let out a whimper. "I need help." She said, sniffing her tears back.

"Just relax, Emma. I'll get you there. I've already told Whale and he told me which room, so I'm transporting us all there. You can stay laying down." Regina looked at Snow and took her hand with one of her own and Emma's hand with her other. The next second, they were in the hospital, Emma in the bed and Regina and Mary standing next to it. "I'll go tell Whale we're here."

"Thanks, Regina. I'm going to call David." Snow stated, sitting on the chair in the room as she dialed her phone.

Emma laid on the bed, feeling worse than ever and honestly wanting Whale to get there now. When he did, he took one look at her and knew something was off. He went to her and checked her temperature and then her heart rate. "You're burning up, Emma." He sat down and looked at her. "That's a sign of an infection. It's common when dealing with the different injuries you had. I'm going to take some blood to be sure, but I'm also going to start an IV of antibiotics. Now, are you sure you don't want Regina to heal you? Emma, it would take all of this away."

Emma looked at him. "How bad is it? Is this going to kill me?"

"No. You're getting it treated. But it does mean you'll be here at least overnight, maybe more."

"I know you guys don't get it, I know you don't understand, but I don't want her to just heal me. Not unless this gets worse."

Regina grit her teeth but had to respect what Emma wanted. "If that's really what you want, then fine. But if your temperature gets worse or this infection gets worse, I'm healing you."

Dr. Whale gave a nod and then went to talk to the nurses about drawing some blood and getting an IV started. Snow watched over her daughter and felt horrible that she hadn't noticed the fever she now had. Emma reached her hand out to her mom to hold. "Mom? I'm scared. Don't tell anyone."

Snow came over and took her hand. "It'll be okay, Emma." She knelt by the bed and kissed Emma's hand. "I won't let anything happen to you, Emma. I've already let too much happen to you."

Emma sighed. "Mom please don't. You didn't let anything happen to me. It wasn't your fault."

"Emma? Why won't you let Regina heal you? If you're scared, why not let her take the infection away?"

Emma licked her dry lips and looked at her mother. "Because I don't deserve it. I deserve to live in this pain."

"That is so not true." David said from the doorway. "You do not deserve any of this, Emma. Please let Regina heal you or at the very least take the infection away."

Regina, who had gone to the restroom, now stood in the doorway. "I can do that, Emma. I can take the infection away."

The nurse that was about to do the IV just looked at the blonde. "I don't know you, you don't know me, but I've seen this before. Let her take it away."

Emma thought a bit and then shook her head. "I don't want to rely on magic. I have faith in Dr. Whale and in medicine." She looked at each of them as the nurse put the IV in. "If the infection gets worse, if I get worse, if I can't argue, then she can heal me." She let out a sigh. "Guys please. Please stop pushing me."

Regina sighed heavily. "Fine, but that means I'm staying here to watch over you."

Emma closed her eyes. "Fine. I can't argue about everything – I have no energy for it." She said, a bit angrily. She knew her family and Regina loved her, but she was getting sick of having to defend every choice she made.

Regina sighed and came over to the bed. "I'm sorry, Emma. I didn't mean to make you defend yourself. I know you've had enough of people telling you what to do. I was only trying to help, but I am sorry. If you want me to leave, I will."

Emma chewed on her lip and shook her head. "I am tired of everyone questioning my choices, but I don't want you to go…I mean if you're really okay with staying." She looked at her parents. "If you guys don't mind her staying."

"We don't mind, but I want to stay too, Emma." Snow said, pleading with her eyes. "Please, Emma."

Emma gave a nod. "Yes, you can stay too. I just don't know how comfortable you'll both be. Maybe I'm being selfish, maybe you should both go." Both Snow and Regina shook their heads and Emma gave a little smile. "Thank you."

Blood was taken, and Snow helped Emma get more comfortable. She was able to stay in the comfortable pajamas Regina gave her and she was thankful for that. She was also given some pain medicine and though she wanted to stay awake and talk, she couldn't. It didn't take long before she was sleeping. She didn't even wake up when she was taken to a bigger room and moved to a bigger bed. This way, her visitors would have room to sleep once cots were brought in.

"Regina…I know that you and Emma have really bonded and that you helped her sleep after nightmares, and I appreciate that very much, but would you mind if I…?"

Regina didn't let her finish the sentence. "You lay with her tonight, Snow. She's your baby girl. Just a tip, if she does start to fret, hold her. Even if she tries to pull away, hold her close and reassure her she's safe."

Snow nodded with a small smile. "Thank you."

David came into the room with Henry. He had gone to pack a bag for Neal who would be staying the night with Maleficent. Henry hugged Regina and then Snow before softly kissing Emma's forehead. "She's so hot."

"She's got a fever from an infection. They're trying to get it to go down."

"She won't let you heal her?"

"Nope." Regina said with a sigh. "And I guess I get that. She doesn't want to rely on magic and that makes sense. I just hate seeing her like this."

Henry nodded his agreement. Then he remembered what he brought. "She's out though?"

"Yes, why?" David asked.

"Because this came out today." He said, pulling out the newspaper. The headlines read "Victim or Liar?" with a picture of Emma on the front. "Apparently this reporter interviewed Killian and he's saying everything is a lie. He's saying Mom is making all this up because she wanted a divorce and he wanted to go to therapy to work things out. He's saying he's innocent and that she's using her position in the town to make people believe her." Henry was angry, and Regina put her hand on his shoulder.

"Henry, calm down. I get this is ridiculous, but there's no sense in us getting upset about it. This is, unfortunately, what happens in these cases." She looked over at Emma and then back at the paper. "But that doesn't mean she needs to see this. I expected this from Sidney's rag, but not from the Storybrooke Gazette. Excuse me a moment." She said before leaving the room.

"Where's she going?" Snow asked.

"I think she's going to make some calls." David said, finishing the article. "For once, I'm not going to stop her. This is pure trash and lies."

"What is pure trash and lies?" Emma asked from her bed having just woken up.

"Nothing." Henry said, a bit too fast.

Emma sighed and looked at him. "Don't lie." She watched him as he let out a breath and came over to the bed with the newspaper. She looked at just the headline and shook her head, pushing it away. "I don't want to read that." She curled up and closed her eyes, just wanting to go back to sleep.

"I'm sorry, mom." Henry sighed.

"It's not your fault. I'm just tired." She said, covering up more.

"Well, the idiot who wrote that just got fired." Regina said as she came in, not realizing Emma had woken up. "They didn't know they jury had not been picked and that this could make things more difficult. They also admitted they didn't read the article before printing it and that it's complete biased and not based on any facts." Regina then saw Snow looking towards Emma and her eyes followed. "Oh, Emma. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were awake."

"It's fine. I was just going to go back to sleep."

"You saw it?"

"It doesn't matter. It's what everyone is going to believe." The blonde said as she felt her eyes fill with tears. She closed her eyes and willed the medication to make her sleep.

"Emma…that's not…"

"Please. I'm not feeling good." Emma said, cutting her father off.

He sighed but let it rest. Emma was sick and dealing with a lot, now was not the time to argue with her. Snow and Regina stayed while Henry and David, after saying goodbye to a sleeping Emma, went home. David talked to Mr. Gold and told him Emma wouldn't be at the courthouse the next day for jury selection. Gold assured David the article did not hinder them and even may help them. He wished Emma a fast recovery and ended the call.

The night was uneventful as the medication kept Emma asleep and the next morning, she was feeling better. "I'm sorry, Emma, but I want you to stay one more night at least. I know the fever is down, but I want to keep it that way. I want to be sure you are cleared of any infection before I let you go."

Emma sighed, but didn't argue. She did, however, make Regina and Snow go home at least for a little bit. It was easier to do once Henry came to visit as she wouldn't be left alone.

"Mom, I want to testify at the trial. I know you wanted to talk to me about it, but you don't have to. I want to. If I can help in any way, I want to do it."

Emma sat up and took Henry's hand. "Are you sure? It's just that Gold thinks you'll make a good witness as to the way…well the way I changed."

"The way he stopped letting you be around me? The way he treated you even when I was around? Yes, I think I would be a good witness to that."

"Okay, but Henry, his lawyer may try to make you feel guilty. Please don't. Please don't let them make you feel like you could have done anything different."

He sighed, but nodded. "I'll do my best mom, but I do already feel guilty."

Emma reached for his hand. "Don't. Please, Henry."

"I'm trying mom. It's like telling you not to feel guilty, you know?"

Emma sighed. "I get that. But I want you to know that I don't blame you at all. If you want to testify, I won't stop you."

"Good, because I do." He kissed his mother's hand. "Anything I can do to help, mom. The next few days or weeks even are going to be hard for you and I want to do what I can to make sure you're okay."

Emma rested the rest of the day and was glad when her parents came back with food since the hospital food was nothing to brag about. She felt her appetite coming back and felt more energy and knew she was over the worst of the infection.

Gold called her that night and said they got the jury picked out – all of whom were now sequestered so they couldn't discuss the case or read anymore media that may come out. "The trial will start on Wednesday. Do you think you'll be up for being there, Emma? You don't have to be, we can ask that you not be called to the stand until Thursday or Friday due to medical issues."

Emma chewed her lip. "I can go home tomorrow, so I should be able to go Wednesday. Gold? I'm scared." Emma hated to admit it, but she was.

Gold's voice went soft. "I know, Emma. I know you're scared, but I also know that you're very brave and strong. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think you could."

Emma sniffed. "Thanks." She said quietly.

"I'll help you through this, we will get through this, Emma. I'm going to ask that you not be called until Thursday. That way, we can practice what you're going to say."

Emma swallowed. "Gold? Will they accept the closed court room?"

There was a pause and Emma's heart sank as she knew the answer.

"They said that because this isn't a case involving a minor, it will be open court. When I do ask about the potion, I will ask if we can do that in privacy…though, I can't guarantee that either."

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat, tears filling her eyes. The thought of everyone, or even anyone seeing what she went through humiliated her. She wanted to say it was okay but didn't trust her voice not to break.

"Emma, I know that's not what you wanted to hear. I'm sorry and I promise I will do what I can to make it private."

"It's not your fault." Emma whispered. "We have to do what we have to do."

"You're not alone, Emma. Just remember that. I know this is hard, but he needs to be punished."

"I know. I know you're doing all you can, and I do appreciate it."

They talked a little more about what would go on and soon, Emma ended the call. She curled up on the bed and felt the tears falling. She knew this could happen, but she had still hoped that she wouldn't have to show the town or anyone what actually happened.

Snow came over and curled up by her daughter. "It'll be okay, Emma. No one is going to judge you if they see it. I promise."

"You can't promise that, mother. I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about it right now."

"It's okay. I understand."

The next day, Emma was up and out of the hospital before noon with orders to not do too much and to call if she had any abnormal pain or temperature. She still had some pains in her ribs and sides but was feeling better than she had for a while. That afternoon, she was in her room with Regina trying to figure out what to wear for the trial.

"You don't want to be too dressy, but not too frumpy either." Regina said, going through what was left of Emma's clothes.

"I don't have many clothes left and my mom's taste is…"

"So not you." Regina finished with a bit of a chuckle. "Hang on, I'll be right back."

Emma watched Regina disappear and looked through what was left, feeling even more down about her situation. She wasn't ever one for having a lot of clothes as her time in the foster system taught her to appreciate anything she had, but she did like some of the things she used to have. Killian had taken so much from her that she was beginning to wonder if she'd ever get her life back on track.

Regina poofed back into the room with handfuls of shirts over her arm. "Okay, I think your black pants are perfect, and these shirts will give the look we want to get." She laid the shirts out on the bed. "Hopefully, you won't need this many but there here if you do."

Emma looked at them and smiled a bit. They were more her taste even if they were of higher quality than her own shirts. "Thanks. You can have them back after the trial."

Regina waved her hand. "No, you can keep these. I have so many and well…no offense, but your closet is a bit empty."

Emma felt a blush on her cheeks. "I…I have money to get more. I just haven't had a chance to."

Regina put the shirts in Emma's closet and came back to her, taking her hands and sitting on the bed. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just want to help a friend, that's it."

Emma gave a small smile. "Thanks. I hate shopping, so I guess I'll take you up on that offer."

"Why didn't you just leave? Why didn't you just get up and walk out on him?" Gold asked sternly as Emma sat in the witness box in the courtroom.

"I couldn't, he wouldn't let me."

"But you're the savior. You have magic, you are strong. You're saying you stayed in the house even when he would leave every day?"

Emma wiped her tears. "Yes. He put a cuff on me, so I couldn't use magic. It also drained my energy, so I couldn't do much." Emma's voice sounded pathetic even to herself, but she couldn't help it. "I tried to leave a couple times. Each time, he or his friends would find me and take me back home and beat me."

"Yet you never called the cops? Never reported it? Emma, why would you let him get away with this?"

Emma looked at Gold, her eyes filled with hurt. He broke character and moved to her, taking her hand. "I'm sorry, Emma. I hate to do this to you, but you need to be ready."

Day one of the trial was more about motions and ordering the witnesses while day two, tomorrow, would be Emma's time to take the stand. Gold knew most lawyers would blame the victim and he wanted Emma to be ready.

"Now remember, all that matters is that you tell the truth. Also, if you need a break, ask for it. You have the right for breaks."

Emma nodded as she wiped her tears. "I understand. I know it's not you and I'll ask for breaks if I need them."

An hour later, David left the court house with an exhausted Emma and hated that she'd have to go through the real thing the next day.

Emma groaned as she flushed the toilet, closing the lid and resting her head on it. Her nerves got the better of her after only a few hours of sleep and now her stomach was yelling at her. There was a soft knock at the door and Emma reached over to open it.

"Oh Emma." Snow said as she immediately sat on the floor next to her daughter, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I thought I heard you being sick. Nerves?"

Emma cuddled into her mother. "Yeah." She closed her eyes. "I'm scared. Everyone is sitting here telling me that this wasn't my fault, but Gold thinks his lawyer will try to blame me for everything." She opened her eyes and looked into those green ones of her mothers. "I'm so tired of taking the blame for this. I don't know if I can emotionally do this."

Snow stroked Emma's hair and kissed her cheek. "That's what we're here for, Emma. You're not alone. If you fall, we're here to lift you back up. Dad and I worked it out with Ashley so that she will keep Neal for the next few days, so we can focus on you and the trial."

Emma sighed, closing her eyes. "You don't have to do that. He's your son too."

"I know, but we want to do this, Em. I get that you also have Henry and Regina, but we want to be here too. You're our baby girl, no matter how old you are."

"Does it bother you when I ask for Regina?"

"Not at all. I think it's great that you have her to help you, Emma." She continued stroking Emma's hair gently. "Do you think you can get a bit more sleep?"

Emma nodded but didn't move for a few moments. "Will you lay with me until I'm asleep?" After the last few days, Emma was past the point of feeling ashamed for asking for almost anything.

"I'd love to." Snow said before getting up. She pulled Emma up and went with her to her bed. Neither of them got much sleep before the alarm went off, but at least they were able to rest, and Emma wasn't sick anymore.

Emma turned the alarm off and sunk back into her mother's arms. "Can't you tell them I'm sick?"

Snow couldn't stop her chuckle. "If this was school, I would baby girl, but this is court." She kissed the back of her daughter's head. "I'm not even going to ask you if you want me to make you breakfast, but I am going to make some toast."

"Just keep it dry please. I can't handle much more than dry toast." Emma said before stretching. "I'm sorry if you didn't get much sleep because of me."

"Hush. No apologizing." Snow got up and turned on the lights on dim. "Go shower and get dressed. Dad and I will see you in the kitchen."

"Okay." Emma said as she sat up. Her stomach was in knots as she went to the bathroom to shower.

David was already up and feeding Neal as Ashley would be picking him up before they had to leave for court. "I have little man all packed up. I assumed you were with Emma. How is she doing?"

"She's terrified. I wish I could just do this for her, David. I hate that she must do this. I hate that this happened to her."

David hugged Snow and rubbed her back. "I know, my love, but this must be done. I don't know how I'm going to be able to just sit in there with him and not beat him for what he did to Emma."

"That would only be doing to him what he did to me, Dad." Emma said as she came into the room. "Does this look okay?"

Emma had picked a jade silk shirt from Regina and her black work pants. She had some of her hair pulled back. She had minimal make up on so that her bruises would still show. Her and Gold talked about the best way to 'highlight' her injuries, so no one could look past them and while Emma normally would not want people to see them, she knew it was better the jury did.

Snow looked over and smiled softly. "It looks perfect. Your toast is on the table with your coffee. I'm going to go get ready."

Emma sat down and nibbled on the toast, knowing she couldn't eat too much or it would come back up. David sat next to her and sipped his coffee. "I know today is going to be hard, Emma, but we're all here for you. You're not alone."

"I know, and that means a lot. Thank you, Dad."

There was a knock on the door and David went to answer. It was Ashley so he lead her into the kitchen and picked up Neal. "You ready to go with Auntie Ashley?"

Neal giggled. "Yes!"

Emma gave Ashley a little smile as she sipped her coffee. Ashley returned it before putting a hand on Emma's shoulder. "It'll be okay. I'll be thinking of you and sending you positive thoughts."

"Thank you. I do appreciate that. Also, thank you for watching Neal. As guilty as I feel now that mom and dad decided to have you watch him, I'm sure I'll appreciate having them to myself later."

"Oh, it's no problem at all. It's payback for all the times your mom watched Alexandra for me. I'm happy to help."

As Ashley left, Regina came into the same open door. "Good morning." She called, and Emma could feel the smile on her own face.

She went to the hall and looked at her friend. "Hey. Thanks for coming."

"Of course. Emma, I told you I'd be with you through all of this."

"Hey Ma." Henry said as he closed the door. He came over and gave Emma a hug, which she gladly accepted, not letting go right away. He was fine with it and would hug her until she broke the contact.

Finally, she did, and she wiped at a stray tear. "Henry, you're going to hear things…"

He took her hand. "I know, Ma. I know I'm going to hear things you don't want me to hear, but nothing I hear will change how I feel about you."

Because the witnesses other than Dr. Whale were more character witnesses, they'd be allowed to be in the courtroom during the full trial. As much as Emma was glad Regina would be there, she didn't really want henry there. However, he deserved to come if that's what he wanted. Emma couldn't hide things from him forever.

"Thanks, Henry." Was about all Emma could say. He came over and hugged her again.

"We should get going." Snow said softly, handing Emma a travel mug full of sugary coffee – just the way she liked it.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let it be known that I know nothing of court, trials, laws, or how they run them. The only court procedure I've been to was an adoption. That being said, I do not know if what I present in this chapter is accurate in guidelines with actual court, but it's how I want it lol.

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Chapter 6**

Emma let herself be lead to a vehicle, Regina's as it turned out, and was quiet for the drive to the courthouse. She had to sit by Gold that day and wasn't due to go on the stand until the afternoon. The morning was going to be mostly Whale talking about the medical findings and Ruby discussing the arrest. They got to the courthouse and Emma wasn't sure if she could keep what little was in her stomach there. She took large gulps of air as her mouth filled with saliva. "I feel sick…"

Regina came and rubbed her back. "It's okay, Emma. We have some time if you want to stop in the bathroom." She looked around and saw the press had just spotted them. Even if this was just Storybrooke, with all the new realms, there was much more press than before. "Let's go inside."

The group rushed in before the press got to them and Emma leaned back against the cool wall. She honestly had no idea how she was going to do this. David came over and wrapped his arms around his daughter. He put his forehead on hers and looked at her. "You got this, Emma. You're strong and you can do this. It's scary, it's stressful and it's not something anyone wants to do, but you can. You can do this."

Emma closed her eyes and pulled some strength from her father. "Thanks, Dad." She said softly as her breathing went back to normal. "I needed that."

"Ah, Miss Swan, you're here." Gold said as he came into the room, three assistances behind him. "We're in court room one. You'll be sitting next to me and the rest of you can sit behind us in the first row. Yesterday, the courthouse was pretty empty and I'm hoping it's that way today, Emma. Now, if you have any questions during any of this while we're in court, you'll have a pad of paper and a pen in front of you and you can write them down. Please, no matter how upset Mr. Diamond makes you, do not say anything out loud unless you are on the stand." He surveyed the crowd behind her. "That goes for all of you. Mr, Diamond has proven already to be a formidable lawyer, but we have the law on our side. We cannot give him anything to work with." Everyone nodded their understanding and Gold looked back at Emma. "Whale is up first and then Ruby. If there's time before lunch, we'll bring your father up as well. After lunch, it's you. I'm doing it this way because hopefully, it'll all be over by this evening and you won't be subject to a full day."

"But it may not be done today?" Emma asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm afraid I can't predict what Mr. Diamond will ask.

Emma nodded her understanding. She looked around and saw people coming into the courtroom. It wasn't full, but it wasn't empty either. She sighed and put her head down. "When do we go in?"

"Now. Emma, please trust me. I've got you, okay?" Gold lifted Emma's chin. "You didn't deserve this and he will pay for it."

Emma blinked away tears. "Thank you."

Snow hugged Emma before going in and Regina squeezed her hand. Henry kissed Emma's cheek and then the blonde was walking in the room and up to the prosecution table. She could hear whispers behind her, clearings of throats, even morning chuckles as people found seats, but she didn't turn around, didn't see that her side was now full with only a few stragglers being forced to sit behind the defense. The door to the left opened and Emma knew Killian was being brought in. Her hands were in her lap and Gold reached over to gently touch them, a silent act of support that Emma appreciated. She couldn't look to him as she swallowed the lump in his throat, she knew his smirk would be there and she didn't want to see that.

"All rise for the honorable Judge Azlan." The bailiff called and everyone stood up as the judge came in. He looked stern yet friendly and Emma could see how he looked like Azlan even if he was in human form and not lion. Once he sat, the bailiff allowed the others to sit. Emma looked up at the judge to show respect, even if she was terrified. She could almost swear he gave her a small smile meant only for her.

"Good morning. Today is really day one for this case and I want to reiterate what I said yesterday. I do not do drama. I don't do entertainment or acts." He looked at Mr. Diamond specifically. "I am done dancing around with this case." The lawyer nodded with a grin and the judge looked at the room. "As for all of you here to watch justice, please do not interrupt. Any outbursts will have you taken out of this court room. Bailiff, you may bring in the jurors."

Emma watched as the twelve jurors came in. There were seven women and five men and Emma didn't know a single one. It was okay though because she knew they didn't know Killian either. Gold had told her was glad there were more women than men and she couldn't disagree. While she kept her features schooled, she did notice some of the women giving soft smiles her way while some of the men seemed to have smirks. She ignored all of it, it could have all been in her head.

"Mr. Gold." The judge said once everyone was seated and the jury was given their instructions. "You may call your fist witness." Emma had missed the opening statements the day before, but Gold had filled her in. While he talked about a woman imprisoned and abused, Mr. Diamond talked about lies and deceit and Emma was glad she wasn't there to hear that.

Mr. Gold stood. "Thank you, your honor. I'd like to call Dr. Viktor Whale." Dr. Whale made his way to the box and was sworn in before he sat. "Dr. Whale, I'd like you to take us back to the day Miss Swan was brought into the hospital." As Emma listened to the doctor go over what he saw, she kept her eyes on the pad of paper in front of her. She wished her mother or father or even Regina were sitting next to her, were able to hold her hand. She remembered that day clearly and reliving it was awful. Silent tears slid down her face as he recalled every mark, every bruise, every broken bone – old and new. She went to wipe them, but didn't want to bring attention to herself, so she let them go.

"Had you ever seen her before that day as a patient?"

"I had not. I work in emergency, so I wouldn't have seen her for her yearly appointments or even a cold or flu."

"But with these injuries, shouldn't she have come in for them? The old ones? The broken fingers, broken ribs?"

"Yes, she should have but she didn't. The way they set I could tell they were never seen by a professional."

"Can you elaborate?" Mr. Gold asked, bringing forward a poster board with two pictures.

"Yes. On the right you can see an x-ray of a hand where the first finger had been broken. It was professionally set and healed correctly. On the left is Emma's hand. You can see two fingers that were broken and not set so did not heal correctly. It's hard to say exactly when it happened, however, given the amount of swelling still around them, it's safe to say it was within the last three to six months."

"Is there any way to prove that it was done in an act of violence?"

"Unfortunately no, not with these. However, some of her other injuries are easy to prove they were caused by violence."

Mr. Gold held up a picture of Emma's abdominal area and there were gasps from the courtroom. This time, Emma did wipe away her tears; she had to because they were making the table under her wet.

"This is a bruise in the shape of a shoe print. In order for that to occur, she had to literally be stomped on, hard." The next two were slash marks in Emma's back and hip. "These were made by a sharp object, obviously, but not a knife." It was hard for Whale to not say 'It was made from his hook' because that would be dismissed.

Mr. Gold held up what looked like Killian's hook. "You mean something like this?"

"Yes."

"Objection! How could anyone possibly know that was what made those marks?" Though Emma didn't want to, she looked over at Mr. Diamond and then back down at the paper. Of course that's what made the marks; she was the one it was used on.

"You can tell because of how the tip fits into the sutures." Dr. Whale stated when the judge overruled the objection. He held the hook to the picture and anyone could tell that's exactly what caused the marks.

This went on for quite a while and Emma zoned in and out of the talking and found herself fiddling with her fingers most of the time. Finally, it was Mr. Diamond's turn and Gold sat by Emma, gently squeezing her hand as he did so. She looked at him and could tell he was happy with what just happened.

"Dr. Whale, you said you never saw Emma in the emergency room before this, correct?"

"Correct."

"Then how do you know that the old injuries weren't self-induced? If she did them to herself, she wouldn't want anyone to know about it."

"I have never seen signs in Miss Swan that she is a person who would do self-harm."

"That doesn't mean she wouldn't. Just because she didn't show signs to you. It's not like you two were great friends. If we are to assume those scratches are from a hook, could it not have been Emma herself who made them? Mr. Jones couldn't wear it all the time, not to bed or while relaxing, so Emma would have access to it."

"She didn't stomp on her own stomach and break her own ribs." Dr. Whale said, his jaw tense.

"Let's say she was cutting herself when Mr. Jones walked in on her. He wanted to stop her but she pulled away. Wouldn't it be fair to say he could have tripped over her as he tried to stop her."

"I wasn't there. I will not speculate that far."

And there it was. Emma knew that Killian's whole defense was going to be that she did all of this to herself. Anger flared inside her, but she did her best not to show it.

"Oh. So you'll speculate to abuse, but not to self-harm."

"Objection."

"Withdrawn." The lawyer said and went to his seat, signaling the end of the questioning.

"Thank you Dr. Whale, you may step down." The judge said and Dr. Wale did so, obviously upset by what the other lawyer had said.

"I call Officer Ruby Lucas to the stand." Gold said, not feeling as defeated as Whale was.

Ruby was sworn in and she and Gold discussed her actions in the case. She talked about her interview with Emma and about how even before, she had seen less and less of the woman. About how she acted before and after the marriage and before quitting her job. Mr. Diamond didn't have much to add with her other than to point out how friendly Ruby was with Emma's family and how there may be some favoritism there.

After Ruby was done, the judge sat back. "This is a good time for a break. We'll resume in one hour sharp." The jury was lead out and so was Killian. Emma stayed at the table putting her head in her hands.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Gold asked, gently touching her back.

"He's making me seem crazy. Like I did this all to myself."

"Of course he is. That's all he's got, Emma. Come on, let's go have some lunch."

Emma sat in the courtyard as everyone around her either ate or chatted. She couldn't do either. She knew she should try to eat, but it wasn't going to happen. She was on the stand next and she was terrified. They went back into the courthouse and Gold looked at her. "I'll warn you, while I question you, I will stand in front of your family and the jury, I will not make you look in the direction of Killian. Mr. Diamond however, will probably stay on that side of the room so you have to see him. Do not let that intimidate you. Answer truthfully and fully, Emma, that's all you have to do."

With hands shaking, Emma moved to sit in the witness box. She was sworn in and sat waiting for this to end. Gold stood and handed her a tissue, which she took. "Emma, can you start by just telling us about your relationship. How it started, how it was after you were married."

Emma talked about it. Talked in truth about how she felt and how it was. She had been happy with him, they had been in love once. But then it slowly got bad. She talked about the various changes, the shifts in the man she trusted. She went through all the attacks, all the verbal, physical and sexual attacks she endured from him. She talked of the cuff and how it took so much from her. The tissue was soon wet and crumpled up, but at least Gold's questions were done. Now came the harder part.

Mr. Diamond stood, but stayed at his table. "That is quite the sad story you just told us, Emma. Tell me, how many people did you tell about this before the day you were found in the woods?"

"None." Emma said, looking down.

"None. So you're part of this close knit family, close community, you're sheriff of Storybrooke and yet you told no one that this man was beating you?"

"I was ashamed. It happened so slowly that when I realized what it was, it was too late."

"Too late? You couldn't run away?"

"No. He had me imprisoned by then."

"So you expect everyone to believe that you endured this hell and didn't tell anyone. Not even your son?"

"I didn't tell anyone. I...I didn't want to be a burden. He put me down all the time, convinced me they were better off without me. It was easy for him because he knew my past. He knew how to get to me."

"Why would he want to do that?"

"I honestly don't know. I don't know why he acted like he did."

"So you agree that it makes no sense, even to you?"

Emma shook her head. "No. What I'm saying is I don't understand how he could go from so great to so horrible. I don't get people like him."

"Emma, you mentioned your past. Is it fair to say you're still not over what happened to you as a child?"

Emma was confused. "No. I'm over it. I've been seeing Archie for it and I've move past my childhood."

"Have you? Because if that's true, he wouldn't have been able to use that part of you against you."

Emma wasn't sure what to say, so she didn't say anything.

"Maybe you're still upset about your past and you hurt yourself. You didn't want anyone to know, so you shut them out. You decided to make yourself a prisoner and Killian loved you so much, he agreed. He wanted to help you, but you didn't let him. You hurt yourself over and over and when you got caught, you blamed him."

"Object…"

"NO! That is not true! I never did any of this to myself!"

Emma heard the pounding of the gavel and stopped herself from yelling further, her tears falling as she tried to catch her breath.

"Sustained, Members of the jury, please disregard that last statement by the defense."

Emma was trying hard to get her emotions back in check but all she could feel were eyes on her and she wanted to be sick.

"Miss Swan, do you need a break?"

Emma tried to answer, but she was in a full blown panic attack and she could barely breathe.

Mr. Gold got to his feet. "I'd like to request a break, your honor."

"Granted."

At once, Gold went to Emma and took her hands, sending some calming waves to her. "It's okay, Emma. Just breathe."

The jury was taken out along with Killian, but the rest of the people in the court house were watching and Emma wished she could disappear. From seemingly out of nowhere, Regina and Maleficent came and took Emma out of the courtroom and to a rest room. "It's okay, Emma. You're okay. We've got you."

Emma leaned on Regina and started sobbing. She knew this was going to happen, but it didn't make it easier. "I didn't do this to myself. I wouldn't do that."

"Shhh. We know that, sweetie." Mal said, stroking Emma's hair. "Those jurors aren't buying it either."

Snow came in and went right to her daughter. "Emma, love, it's okay."

Emma hugged her mother, not wanting to let go. "Don't make me go back up there." She said, sounding like a child.

"Oh baby girl. I…I wish I could just take you home but I can't. We need to do this so he gets justice."

After a bit, Emma was calming down and finally able to breathe. There was a knock on the door and Snow opened it. "Emma, we have to go back."

Emma looked over at Mr. Gold and nodded. "I'll be right there." She walked to the sink and splashed cold water on her face.

Back in the courtroom, Emma sat back in the witness stand and waited for the trial to resume. They jurors came in and Emma felt even more sick when Killian strode back in looking smug. When the judge sat, he looked at Emma. "Are you okay, Miss Swan?" All Emma could do was nod, not trusting her voice. "Mr. Diamond, you may continue, but tread lightly. You've already gone too far."

"I have no further questions for this witness, your honor."

Mr. Gold stood. "I'd like to leave Emma as a witness we can call back later if needed."

"Yes, that is fine. You may take your seat, Miss Swan."

"Your honor." Mr. Diamond said as Emma was sitting down. "The rest of the prosecutions witnesses are purely character witnesses. There are no actual witnesses to the crime my client is being accused of. I'd like to call for my own client to take the stand as hearing from the prosecution will only add emotion, not evidence."

Emma's heart sank as she heard him. He wasn't wrong, but she relied on the character statements to make her point. She quickly wrote on the pad and pushed it to Gold who nodded and stood.

"Your honor, with all due respect, my client has the right to her character witnesses. However, we are willing to forgo their testimony if the defense is willing to allow us to let the truth come out. I know we try our best to match this world's legal system and we do a very good job. However, we do have access to things the rest of the world doesn't, ways of finding the truth. Magic. I'm not saying I will produce this magic, that would be unethical, however, I know of many people who can make the potion I'm speaking of. It's simply really, Miss Swan takes it and her memories project a picture so we can all see what happened. Or, Mr, Jones takes it, but the same thing happens. To prove it's not been tampered with, I suggest they both take it and we will see the same images. We will see the truth."

Emma glanced over to Killian who's smirk was gone and fear in his eyes instead.

The judge thought a moment. "Being that Mr. Diamond is playing dirty and this will get us down to the truth, I accept this. I myself can make this potion and I will do so tonight. Tomorrow, we will all see the truth."

"Thank you your honor. May I also request that for this, the court room be closed from public?"

Emma held her breath as she waited for the answer. "I'm sorry but I am unable to change that in the middle of a trial. I will hope that anyone here shows all involved the respect they deserve. Court is adjourned until 8 am tomorrow morning."

They all met in Gold's office and Emma was in a daze as she sat there. Sure, it was her idea, but it was all she could think of to make sure the jury got the truth of what happened.

"This is good, Emma. This is going to get the truth out there." Gold said as he sat at his desk.

"I know. I just…I don't want everyone to see it." Emma looked at Henry and then looked down. She didn't want him to see it. She didn't want anyone, but especially not him.

"I won't go in, Ma." Henry said quietly. "I'll stay out in the waiting area. I get you don't want me to see it and I respect that."

Emma looked at him, tears in her eyes. "Really? You don't mind?"

He shook his head. "I don't mind at all. If that's what you want, then I won't be in there."

"None of us will be." David stated. "Out of respect for you, we will all wait in the waiting area. We've heard your story and believe you, Emma, we don't need to see it."

Emma looked around as everyone nodded. "Thank you."

That night, the nightmares were terrible. Emma gave up sleeping after the third one and just lay in her mother's arms. She knew this was the right thing to do, but she didn't want to relive it again.

The next day, the courthouse was filled with people and Emma's stomach sank. She looked around in disbelief as people filed in. "Why are they all here? Do they think this is entertaining? Come watch the horrible memories from when the Swan girl got beat up." She said, waving her hands and getting the attention of some of the people waiting to get into the room. "This is my life, not a television show."

Some people who heard her had the decency to look guilty and even a few left, not feeling right about being there anymore. Emma's group did as they said they would and waited in the waiting area as Emma and Gold went in. They sat quietly as they knew the trial was starting again, but were surprised when the doors suddenly opened. "This is not entertainment and I'm appalled at all of you for your actions." Came the voice of the judge as the people started leaving, some of them grumbling about being told to leave.

The bailiff came out and made sure everyone was gone. "You guys can come in if you like since you are family and friends, but the judge has ordered everyone else to go."

"Thank you, but we told Emma we would respect her wishes and stay out here." Snow stated and the bailiff nodded and went back to the courtroom.

"They're gone. The family said they're respecting Miss Swan's wishes and waiting out there."

Emma was surprised at how upset the judge had gotten, but glad the onlookers were gone. Now it was just her, her legal team, Killian and his team, the jury, the judge, and the bailiff.

"Now, I've thought long and hard about how we are doing this." The judge said as he stood. The bailiff closed the drapes in the room and the judge put a vial in front of both Killian and Emma. "You're both going to drink this and listen to me and me only. Mr. Gold and Mr. Diamond, you are to stay quiet or you will leave. When I ask the questions, you do not need to answer, your brains will show me your answers." He looked at Emma. "If your account is true, this is going to be hard. I want to apologize up front for that, for making you relive this. However, I feel this is the only way we can get the full truth as there were no witnesses." He put two chairs in the middle of the room and one in the middle facing them. "Please bring your vials, sit down, and drink them."

Emma didn't want to be that close to Killian, but she trusted the bailiff, who was standing behind them, would protect her should he try anything. As she sat, she realized that her thoughts would be projected right next to Killian's and right in front of the jury. She took a deep breath and drank the vial. Killian hesitated, but finally did the same. She wondered what he was thinking knowing the truth would be out there.

"Close your eyes and focus only on my voice. I want you both to take me back to the day this allegedly happened. Take me back to when Killian came home from being out."

It was quiet at first, but then Emma could hear her own voice and knew it was being played from her mind. There was a slight echo which had to be from Killian's mind. The day replayed itself from her mind, but Killian's seemed to have gone silent. "Mr. Jones, how are you blocking this?"

"I'm not, your honor."

"Then why is it not working?"

"I don't know. Nothing happened that day, so I guess I have nothing to show."

Emma could hear Gold growl, but the judge must have cut it off. "Emma, we'll go on what you show us and I will explain to the jury what happened. Please focus again on what happened that day." She did so and tears fell down her face as she relived that day in full detail. Even her thoughts about Regina showed through and while she would normally be embarrassed, she wasn't anymore. She was baring her soul in order for Killian to get his punishment. Once it was done, he had her go back to when the abuse first started and show some other episodes.

"Thank you, Miss Swan. That took true courage and I appreciate it."

Mr. Gold helped Emma to her seat and she looked at him. "What happened?" She whispered.

"He blocked it." Was all he could say before the judge cleared his throat. He looked to the jury, as did Emma. She noticed some of them wiping their eyes or even looking angrily at Killian.

"I want to explain what happened. Mr. Jones says nothing showed for him because nothing happened, but that is not true. I made the potion myself, I know how it works. It would have shown his day no matter what it was that happened. It would have shown him coming home and finding Emma, just as Emma's did, or it would have shown him at the pub or where ever he claimed to be. Instead, it showed nothing, which means he blocked it. He must have taken his own potion to block the effects of mine. I don't know why he would do that when Miss Swan's would still show, but he did. Now it is for you to decide what you make of his actions."

Even Mr. Diamond looked upset at his own client as this was being said and Mr. Gold knew they had just won. The closing statements were given and now it was time for the jury to do their job. Outside, Emma sat on a chair and curled into herself as she felt her tears. It was hard to live through that again and to know that everyone was watching. Regina sat next to her and rubbed her back as Gold told them what happened.

"It's done, Emma." Regina whispered. "It's done. You did it and he will be punished."

The jury only took about a half hour before they were ready with the verdict. Emma sat by Gold as Killian was told to stand. Each charge was read off and the verdict for each of them was guilty. Emma felt such relief as she realized he'd be gone for a long time, especially since one of the charges was attempted murder. "Thank you for your duty." The judge said to them and then he looked at Killian. "The sentencing hearing will be on Monday." He pounded his gavel and Killian was dragged away.

Emma turned and smiled at her family, finally feeling like this was officially over.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again. As much as I planned for this to not be a long story, I also don't want it to be unrealistic. That being said, this is SQ endgame, but Emma has some healing to do first. Also, I know this is fanfiction and we make our own rules, but I did look up the laws in Maine and they do not have the death penalty…just putting that out there.

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Chapter 7**

Emma left the courtroom feeling lighter than she had for a long time. She still couldn't believe that it was over, and that Killian was found guilty. The truth, her truth came out and justice was being served. This was the first time in her life that someone who hurt her actually saw justice. She was in a daze as the group was stopped on the steps by the press. Gold held onto Emma's hand and put his hand up to call their attention.

"While we are all very happy that justice has been served, we do ask that you respect the privacy of Miss Swan and her family." Emma whispered something to him and he smiled. "She thanks everyone for their support and thanks you in advance for your respect." Most reporters understood that and backed off, while some kept at it. Gold was able to push through and bring Emma with him. Once at the car, Emma couldn't stop herself from hugging the man.

"Thank you. Thank you for taking my case and for believing me."

He smiled and hugged her back. "Emma, this was one case I was proud to take. I know we have our past conflicts, but knowing what I do know of your own past, I'm glad I could be the one to finally bring justice to your world. Now, go have a good night, a good rest of the week and weekend. I'll see you on Monday for his sentencing."

Emma gave a nod and took a step back. "Thank you, I will." She watched him get into the car and then felt an arm on her own. She looked over and gave Regina a soft smile. "Hey."

"Hey." Regina said, smiling back. "So, I was thinking, now that the trial is over, can I please heal you? I talked to Mal, and together we found the perfect potion that will help so I don't have to use magic – which always comes with a price. Come over tonight and by morning, you'll be all better."

Emma chewed on her lip as her parent's came over. "Well first, we're having celebratory dinner. Granny is closing up for a private party." She looked at Emma. "Don't worry, it's just us, Granny, Ruby, and Maleficent and Lilly. Oh, and Ashley and Tomas since they've been watching Neal."

Emma gave a nod. "Okay, but I don't know if I can last all night. I haven't gotten much sleep this week from all the stress."

"I know that, Emma. That's why we're going now. Please, just come for a little bit? Between healing and being stressed, you haven't been able to just let go and have fun. I get that, I get why, but tonight you can."

Emma looked at the hope in both her parents and couldn't stand to disappoint them. "Sure, okay. I'll be there." She then looked at Regina. "And yes, to you, too. I'll let you heal me. I'm over being in this pain." Regina touched Emma's shoulders and Emma could feel relief go through her. "Thanks."

"No problem. Maleficent started the potion yesterday so it will be ready at midnight. Stay at my place? That way I can be sure it works properly."

"Sure. Will it hurt?"

"No. It'll feel like liquid relief and then you'll sleep. When you wake up, you'll be all healed."

"Well, physically at least."

"Right. The rest, we work on with time." Regina said with an encouraging smile. "Come on, let's go eat. I know you have to be hungry."

"Starving. I feel like I haven't eaten for years."

"It's been days, not years, but I'm sure it feels the same."

Emma let out a small chuckle. "I think my stomach is eating its self."

Regina chuckled. "Come on." She opened her car door for Emma and then went to her side and buckled in. Henry was already in the back and buckled up and Regina couldn't help but wonder if one day they'd be a real family like this one day and maybe take a road trip. Regina shook herself out of those thoughts as she drove to Granny's.

Emma took a breath before stepping in and wasn't surprised at the cheering she got from everyone inside. She gave a small smile. "Thanks guys, but let's not make a big deal." She looked over and saw Granny coming towards her with a smile. The woman could be terse and short with people, but she was one of the few that Emma felt genuinely cared about her. Emma hugged her and closed her eyes as the woman hugged Emma back in a warm embrace.

"I'm proud of you, Emma. You stood up to him and got justice. I know it couldn't have been easy and I know you must have been terrified." She reached up and cupped Emma's cheek. "Baby girl, please know that you can always come to me."

Emma blinked back tears and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you. Granny, please don't take it personally. I didn't think I could go to anyone. I know it's hard to understand, but he used my weaknesses against me and convinced me that I would be a burden to everyone. He convinced me that my job was done, and no one wanted me, cared about me, or loved me anymore. I know you don't get it but…"

"Emma, honey, I do get it." Granny interrupted, wiping Emma's tears with her thumb. "You don't have to explain manipulation to me. He knew you grew up being told those things, believing those things. He used that against you and after what you've been through, it was easy for him. Emma, I get it and I don't look at you differently. I don't see you as weak or dumb or anything like that. Gods, you're so strong to fight back, even if it took you a bit to get the strength. All I'm saying is that if you need anything at all, you can talk to me. If you need encouragement or need to vent or cry or yell, you come to me. I'm always here for you."

"We all are." Said Ruby's soft voice from behind them.

Emma cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. "Thank you." She looked around. "Thank you to everyone. I want you all to know that I know you're here for me. I just have to admit that it's hard for me to ask for help. It's hard for me to ask for anything, honestly, so please don't be offended if I don't reach out to you."

"It's okay." Lilly said with a smile. "Because we're all going to reach out to you so often, you're going to get sick of us." The group chuckled, but everyone nodded in agreement, showing Emma they all were there and cared about her. "Em, we know there's a lot of healing for you to do, a lot of emotions to get through, but we'll all be here for you."

Emma gave a watery smile. "Thank you. All of you. That means a lot. I will try my best to remember that I have all of you."

"Great." Regina said, smiling. "Now, let's get on with this party." Regina knew Emma would be getting tired of having everyone's attention. She went with Granny to help finish getting everything set up as Belle came over to talk to Emma.

A few hours later and Snow could tell that Emma was tired and ready to go. She came over to her daughter and held her hand. "Emma, if you're ready to go, you should go. You look tired and ready to be done around people."

Emma smiled a bit. "I think I am ready. Thank you for this, mom and for your support through all this."

"It's what parents do, Em. Now, go to Regina's and get healed."

Emma looked over to Regina and Maleficent and though she tried not to, she couldn't stop feeling a pang of jealousy as Maleficent laughed and touched Regina's arm.

"Emma, they're old friends. She likes you and she's waiting for you. Don't worry and don't rush. She'll be here when you're ready."

Emma looked over at her dad who had seen her look and then looked down. "She's free to do what she wants, dad. It's not her fault I'm not ready. It's not her fault I was dumb and didn't realize she had feelings for me back before Hook; back when I had feelings for her but thought she'd never want me."

David sighed and touched Emma's shoulder. "It's not your fault either. You weren't dumb, Emma, don't you ever say that." He pulled her into a hug. "Emma, she doesn't care that you're not ready now. She loves you enough to wait."

Emma hugged him back and could feel her tears, mad at herself for her feelings. "I wish I was ready. I wish I could just jump into a relationship with her and forget the last year. It's just, I know if I do that, I'm only running from one problem and into another one, because I won't be emotionally ready, and I'll cause issues."

David cupped the back of Emma's head with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. "I understand, Emma. You're doing the smart thing and she knows that. She's not pressuring you, so you should stop pressuring yourself."

"Pressuring yourself about what?" Came Regina's voice from behind them and Emma wiped her eyes as she pulled away from her father.

"Nothing." She lied and then felt guilty at the disappointed look in Regina's eyes. "Just…well you."

Regina knew exactly what Emma was talking about and she shook her head. "Emma, even if you told me right now you were ready, I wouldn't start anything. There's absolutely no pressure." She took one of Emma's hands. "I am sorry if I made you feel like you need to be ready. That wasn't my intention. I guess I thought maybe it would help you if you knew that someone loves you. Maybe it was wrong."

"No, it wasn't wrong. It did make me feel better and did give me strength. I guess I'm nervous because I don't know how long it'll take me to be ready."

"And that's okay. Come on, let's go and get you healed. Mal just left to get the potion and is meeting us at my place."

After saying her good byes and giving permission for Henry to stay with her parents, Emma and Regina headed out. The car ride was quiet as Emma was tired and Regina didn't want to push anything. Once at Regina's, Emma took her boots off and relaxed on Regina's sofa as Regina went and got some spare pajamas for the blonde.

Emma smiled a bit as she took them. "I'll miss you waiting on me hand and foot you know." She joked as she slowly stood up.

"Oh, that doesn't have to stop just because you're feeling better." Regina said. "I like taking care of you."

Emma's smile turned soft and she was about to say something when the door opened and Malificent came in with Lilly. "I still don't get why you have to drive so fast. It makes me dizzy."

"Mom, I was going slower than the speed limit." Lilly sighed as she took her boots off.

"I'll just go get changed quick." Emma said softly and made her way to the downstairs bathroom.

"How's she doing?" Lilly asked Regina as they set up the potion in the kitchen. It would still be a couple hours before it was ready, so Regina started to make some hot chocolate.

"She's good, I think. Tired, relieved, still in pain, but I think today really did help her."

"I'm so glad the judge kicked out those people who came just for a show. Seriously, what is wrong with people? They get a kick out of seeing someone's pain?"

"I can't believe the one-handed wonder managed to block his memories and think he'd get away with it." Mal said as she lit a flame under the beaker with the potion. "I honestly hope they sentence him to death. Back in our world, he'd be decapitated."

"Yes, but this isn't your world, and, in this world, this state doesn't have the death penalty." Emma said from the doorway. "The most he'd get is life in prison and being we don't have a prison per say, I really don't know how that's going to work."

Regina looked over at Emma. "That's not exactly true. Since the realms have united, we don have some kingdoms that have proper cells. Sure, not prison cells exactly, but better than the holding cells here at the station. Azlan, for example, has cells for those who misbehave, Tomas and Ella – Ashley I guess she likes better – have a dungeon in their palace, even if they're not living there. They've turned the palace into a home for children though, so I'm not sure that would be appropriate."

Emma raised her brows at that. "Wait, they did? A home for which children?"

"Well, for the lost boys mostly, but they've been finding other orphaned kids from all realms and have taken them in too." She poured Emma a cup of cocoa. "A lot has changed in the last year, Emma."

Emma didn't know if she was sad or mad that she didn't know this. "I guess so. I wish I'd have known that. I'd have liked to help with the kids." She wrapped her hands around the hot mug. "I'm also wondering what else I don't know."

"Let's not worry about that right now." Maleficent stated. "My palace still has a dungeon. He can come rot with me."

Lilly chuckled at that. "I'm sure yours is the last place he'd be sentenced to. Come on, let's not talk about him right now."

Emma was staring into her mug. She didn't really want to talk about Killian or the changes in the town, but she couldn't stop her thoughts. "What will happen to him?" She asked quietly. "I mean, it's not like we can send him to another city or even another world. What if he only gets a couple of years and comes out and comes after me?"

Mal came over and wrapped her arms around Emma from behind. "He won't. Emma, even if he get's out in a couple years, which I don't see happening, he won't be able to get to you." She kissed Emma's cheek. "Time is going to help you get back to who you were before him. Emma, you're so strong, you'll see."

Emma leaned back against Maleficent. "Thank you."

Regina cleared her throat. "Now, let's not worry or talk about Mr. Asshole until Monday when he get's his punishment."

Lilly raised her mug to toast. "I agree. No more Mr. Asshole."

The four spent the next few hours watching tv and trying to keep Emma awake and not worried.

"Okay, the potion should be ready. Emma, go on up to my room and we'll bring it up. You'll want to be laying down because you'll fall asleep right away."

"Wait, your room? Not the guest room?"

Regina swallowed. "Is that okay? I want to be able to keep an eye on you and Maleficent and Lilly are staying over, so unless you want to sleep in the boy scented soaked room of our son, then my bed is the only other option."

"Yeah, okay. Yes, that will work. Thank you." Emma then looked at Maleficent and Lilly. "Thanks for helping and for being here." She moved and hugged each of them before going upstairs. She laid down in Regina's bed, feeling tense and not really knowing why.

"Go heal your princess, Regina. Come on down after she drinks it. I know you want to stay by her but give her an hour to herself after she takes it. She'll be sleeping anyway."

Regina chewed on her lip. "I don't feel right not telling her, Mal."

"Not telling her what?" Lilly asked.

Maleficent sighed. "I advised Regina not to tell Emma that while the potion will heal her physically, it's going to cause vivid memories of how those injuries happened."

"Nightmares?"

"More like night terrors." Regina grumbled. "I should just use my magic."

"You can't. We discussed this and the dangers with that. Yes, for temporary relief, that works, but to heal her deep down, her broken bones, bruises, all of that – she needs too much of your energy. Yes, she's going to have nightmares and no, she won't be able to wake up until the potion is done, but you can be there, Regina. You can hold her and help her through it. She'll hear you, even if she can't talk to you, she'll hear you."

Regina just nodded and took the vial with the potion. "I'll be back down in a bit." She stood outside her door and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She hated not warning Emma but was scared that Emma wouldn't take the potion if she knew the side effects. She swallowed and then put a smile on her face and came into the room. "Ready to get better?"

Emma looked over and sat up. "Yeah, I guess. You said this isn't going to hurt, right?"

"Right. You'll feel the warmth take over you and fall asleep." Regina bit her lip, Emma's trusting eyes looking into her soul. "I have to be honest, Emma. I can't not tell you this. It's not going to physically hurt in any way. However, it may be a bit emotional."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, sitting up a bit more.

Regina swallowed and put the vial on the bedside table. "As it heals your injuries, you will have dream memories of how each and everyone of those injuries happened. Mal and I tried looking everywhere for a way to omit that part but were unsuccessful. Emma, I'm sorry I almost didn't tell you." Regina felt tears in her eyes but tried to blink them away. She felt as if she already betrayed Emma and felt guilty for it.

Emma reached out and put her hand on Regina's. "Hey, it's okay, don't stress about it. You told me the truth now, and that's all that matters." She took a breath. "So, I have to relive everything again to heal from it?"

Regina sighed. "Yes. Emma, I'm sorry. The only other option is if I use my magic…"

"No." Emma interrupted. "I won't let you use your energy to heal me, Regina." Emma reached over and took the vial. "I was dumb enough to get myself into that situation, I deserve the consequences that come with it." She drank the vial and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth spread inside her. "When do the nightmares start?"

Regina watched her and sighed. "Mal thinks you have about an hour. Emma, I won't be able to wake you no matter how hard I try, and you may not hear me, but I swear I'll be here with you through all of it."

Emma laid down and nodded. "Thank you." She knew she sounded small and almost weak, but she was terrified inside over what was about to happen to her. However, in the end, she'd be healed and that's what she tried to focus on as the blackness took over her and she fell into a deep sleep.

Regina watched her for a moment before going back downstairs. She met Lilly on the way who was heading to bed and found Mal in the kitchen fixed a cup of tea. "How is she?" Mal asked as she handed Regina the cup.

"She's brave and strong, and asleep."

"You told her?"

"I had to. I couldn't do that to her and not tell her. She appreciated knowing the truth."

"And she still took it?"

Regina nodded. "Yes. No hesitation. She thinks she deserves to see all the mistakes she's made, as she puts it. That's the sad part, Mal, she thinks she got what she deserved."

Maleficent sighed and leaned on the counter. "That's going to take a while to change, Regina. You should know that, you used to have those thoughts too. Remember how long it took me to convince you that you did not deserve the punishments from your mother or from the King? It's more than just physical, it's mental and emotional too."

Regina nodded as she remembered. "I know. I just…I wish I could take it all from her, Maleficent. She just doesn't deserve all this. She's already been through so much and has hardly even dealt with that properly."

"You mean her childhood? I know she had it bad, Lilly told me things she went through and let slip some things she knew Emma went through too, but Regina, you don't think she's talked to her parents about that? Resolved that with them?"

Regina shook her head. "Her parents are…well, they're idiots. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're all on the same team now, but they haven't done things the way they should. After the curse first broke, Emma didn't want to talk about things as she was still processing the fact her parents were alive and the curse was real. However, since then, it's the Charming's who don't want to talk about the past. They want to just believe they can start from when the curse broke and move on and forget the past. I think Emma tries, and some days it works, but I've heard her say things under her breath that show she's not healed from it. I think she just accepts that now she has parents and that's good enough, so why go back?"

"Because she won't get over it if it's not talked about." Maleficent said, a bit of shock in her voice.

"I know that, and I've tried telling all them that. But Emma doesn't want to upset anyone, and Snow and David just don't seem to think it's needed. However, if they had half a brain between them, they'd talk to her about it. They went and named that damn son of theirs Neal simply because they thought he died a hero. Maybe he did, but the fact is, Emma had some very bad moments of betrayal with him and it hurts her to hear his name all the time. But they didn't think to ask Emma about it, they just did it." Regina sighed. "I'm not saying I'm the perfect parent, or that the perfect parent even exists, god knows I fucked up with Henry, but I talked to him afterwards. We talked, cried, yelled, apologized, and worked it out. I just don't get how they think it's okay that for 28 years their daughter was on her own and was hurt, abused, and mistreated and they don't even want to talk about it. I don't think they understand how much help that would give Emma. I'm not saying this is their fault, but I can't help but wonder if this would have even happened if she had a healthier relationship with her parents. She wouldn't have felt like she needed to be with him in the first place, wouldn't have been trying to make her parents happy."

Mal sighed as she took everything in. "You don't know that for sure, but I think you may have a point. Lilly and I have had many conversations and even though it wasn't technically my doing, I've apologized for what she went through because that's what you do as a parent. I just can't believe the Charmings wouldn't talk to Emma about it. Although I guess nothing about them should surprise me anymore." Maleficent finished her tea. "I think we have more healing to do than just physical, Regina and if her parents won't help her, then it's up to us."

Regina raised a brow. "Us?"

Maleficent smiled a bit. "Yes, us. Look, you may have a crush on her and your heart may want her, but I like that girl too. Not in the same way, but I respect her and feel this need to take care of her. It's my motherly instincts, I'm sure." She said with a grin. "Maybe it's because she and Lilly were close at one time. I don't know, but it doesn't matter. I want to help her."

"You're such a softy." Regina said with a chuckle. "Queen of Darkness you are not."

"And you're no Evil Queen. Funny how these names assigned to us do not correctly define us. I think that works both ways, honestly. Those 'Heroes' are anything but." She said with a laugh.

Regina couldn't help but agree. "You know who understands all that?"

"Emma."

"Emma." Regina agreed with a sigh. She was about to say more when there was a thud from above them and then a scream. Regina's face went white and she looked at Mal before rushing upstairs to find Emma wrestling with the blankets, deep in sleep, and tears streaming down her face. Regina used her magic to untangle her and put her back on the bed. She then lay next to her and wrapped her arms around the body that was trying to fight her. "It's okay, Emma. I've got you. You're safe." Though Emma was still stiff and obviously fighting internal demons, she didn't fight as hard and almost seemed to sink into Regina's arms."

"I'm going to bed, Regina. Call me if you need anything at all." Maleficent said from the door way. "I mean it."

Regina gave a nod and made herself more comfortable on the bed, knowing it would be a long night. By five AM, Regina was exhausted and emotionally drained. Hearing Emma whimpering and crying and sometimes calling out, pained her heart to no end. She heard a soft knock at her door and gave a tired smile when she saw Maleficent with a cup of tea. The older woman came over and sat next to Regina. "Go get some sleep. I can take care of her for a bit before she wakes up. I'll come get you when it seems this is over because I feel like she'll feel more comfortable with you than me."

Regina didn't have it in her to argue, so she kissed Emma's temple, took the tea, and went off to the guest room where Mal had been to sleep. Maleficent laid in the bed and as soon as Emma started thrashing again, she held her. A few hours later, Mal noticed that Emma's reactions were fewer and further time between them. She got up and went to get Regina. "I think she'll be waking soon. Now, I have no idea if her sleep would have actually been restful or not, so she may be more tired when she wakes up than she was when she went to bed."

Regina nodded, used the bathroom and went back into her room. She looked at Emma as she laid down and put an arm around her.

"Regina?" Came the sleepy blonde voice. "Is…is it over?"

Regina let out a breath and held Emma tighter. "Yes. It's over."

Emma let out a breath that even Regina could feel and moved her body a bit. "I feel so much better physically, but gods, I'm exhausted."

Regina chuckled. "It was a rough night. Emma, sleep. You deserve it and when you wake up, you'll have breakfast."

Emma could barely keep her eyes open, so she just nodded at that and fell asleep once more – this time with no nightmares.

Regina knew there was a long road ahead of them but with Emma now physically healed, and Killian found guilty, they were closer to the end of the road than they were when they started.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Chapter 8**

Maleficent looked in on the two women in bed and smiled. Emma was cuddled into Regina and looked more comfortable than she had ever seen her look before. She looked more relaxed than Maleficent had ever seen her. Regina also seemed relaxed and comfortable and it gave the woman a smile knowing that these two women were hopefully, finally, on their journey to their happy endings. They both deserved to be happy and they honestly seemed to be the perfect couple. Quietly, she shut the door and then headed to join her daughter in the kitchen. "What is that smell? It smells amazing."

"It's bacon, mom. You've had it before."

"Yes, but this smells amazing."

"Maybe because it's not burning. You do like to have your food burnt. Try it like this." She said, handing her mother a piece.

Maleficent took a bite and rolled her eyes. "Mmm. Amazing. Maybe I shouldn't always burn my food."

"How are the Golden Couple doing?" Lilly asked as she continued cooking.

"Sleeping for now, which is good. I don't think either of them got restful sleep last night." Maleficent poured herself a cup of coffee. "Lilly, are you over Emma? Don't try to deny it, I know you've had a crush on her since you were kids."

Lilly sighed as she flipped some pancakes. "Yes. I mean, I think I'll always wonder what could have been, but neither of us are those little girls anymore. I don't think that now, we'd make a good couple. Besides, her and Regina seem perfect together."

"They are, Lilly. I'm sorry to say that, but it's true. I think they are True Love and Soul Mates all in one. Which, by the way, rarely ever happens. You, my darling daughter, are meant for someone else. I don't think you've met them yet though as I get no tingly feelings from anyone around you the way I do when Emma and Regina are together. But don't worry, you'll find them when you're meant to find them."

Lilly smiled at her mother. "I'm not worried. Honestly, I've loved getting to know you more and having our little family. I like having fun and dating people. I don't think I'm ready for anything serious anyway. I just…" She sighed and looked sadly at Maleficent. "I want to see Emma happy. I want her to not believe that bullshit that pirate made her believe again. I hate that she grew up thinking and believing she was unloved, unwanted, and worthless and I hate that in a matter of just over a year, that asshat was able to have her thinking that again. I know how that feels." Lilly said with tears in her eyes. "I remember well, and I hate that Emma is feeling that again. I hate that man for what he did and it's taking all I have to not go kill him."

Maleficent went and rubbed her daughter's back. "My love, I hate that you know that feeling more than I hate anything in the world. As far as Emma goes, what she needs from us is support. She needs us to remind her that she is loved, she is wanted, and she is worth so much. I think we also need to get her parents to talk to her. It sounds like they've never really resolved anything from her past and while she may say she's over it, the fact that he was able to get to her so easy shows me she's not quite as over it as she thought."

Lilly shook her head. "That's another thing that pisses me right off. Where the hell were her parents? Why didn't they notice something a long time ago and stop it? I mean, you wouldn't allow me to not visit you, not talk to you, not see you. You'd be busting down my door and not apologizing for it. How could they have let this go on for so long? I mean, that had to only play into the manipulation Killian was using. I can just picture him saying he was right and the fact that her parents weren't visiting or calling proved it. And I'm sorry, but in a way, it kinda does. It proves that…"

"It proves that what?" Emma asked quietly from the doorway where she was leaning with her arms crossed. "You think that what he said was right? That my parents don't love me and have no need for me now the curse is broken? How exactly were you going to finish that sentence, Lilly?"

Lilly sighed and took the frying pan off the burner before facing Emma. "I wasn't going to say that, Emma." She said softly. "It's just…by them not checking on you or demanding to see you, I can see why you believed Killian. That's all I'm saying."

"That's not what it sounded like you were going to say to me." Emma came in and sat on the stool by the bar. "Lilly, maybe they made mistakes, maybe they weren't perfect, and maybe I wish they would have tried a bit harder, but I can't sit here and blame them for everything. Neither can you. I know that you would have every right to hate them, but please hate them on your behalf, not mine. I can't…I can't go back to that dark place where I believe they don't love me, so please, if you can help it, please don't talk like that around me."

Lilly felt a lump in her throat and swallowed it down as she moved to stand across from Emma. "I'm so sorry. No, I don't want you to go back to the dark place and I'd hate to be the reason you do. I just…" Lilly blinked and looked into blue green orbs. "I wish you knew how amazing you are. I wish you knew just how much you're worth and how much you're loved, and wanted and I'm sorry, this is the last time I'll say it, but I think your parents could do a better job at showing you." She put her hand over Emma's. "But that's the last I'll say about it."

Emma gave a small smile. "I happen to agree with you, Lilly, but I'll take what I can get. They've taken care of me since this all happened and have supported me, and I am so thankful for that. Look, something I told myself soon after the curse broke, and I met them as my parents is that they're new to this too. They had me and literally blinked and then I was an adult. Could I be angry at them for sacrificing me for them and everyone else? Sure. I could be. Would it change anything? Nope, it would still be done. They can't take anything back, they can't change the past, so why hold onto anger that won't change anything? They're still learning to be parents to an adult, and I'm still learning to be a daughter." Emma took a breath and looked at both Maleficent. "I get that you guys handled things differently and that maybe you feel we didn't do it right, but we did it in a way that works for us. Yes, I do wish we could talk about it more and yes, sometimes I wish they'd ask about my past, but I think it's just too hard for them and I respect that. The fact of the matter is, Killian would have found a way to manipulate me regardless of my past. That was his mission and he achieved it. It's not fair to blame anyone but him, even if I understand why you do. I trusted him, thought I loved him, and therefor shared things with him that he used against me, things that no matter how my parents and I resolved things, would have affected me the same way."

Maleficent nodded. "I understand, Emma. Your situation is different than ours, I just want to be sure you know how much you're loved and wanted."

Emma smiled softly. "I'm trying so hard to believe that, Mal. Every day, I believe it more and more." She looked at Lilly. "I'm starving and smelled bacon. Please tell me there's food ready."

Lilly smiled. "There is. Help yourself."

Regina came down a bit later and joined them for breakfast, glancing every now and then at Emma, almost to make sure she was still there. After they ate, Emma looked at Maleficent and Regina. "Thank you for the potion. It's so nice to be able to move without hurting."

"It was no problem, Emma." Maleficent said as she stood. "Please forgive me, but I think it's time I go home."

Lilly stood too. "Emma, you call or visit any time, okay? Please don't be a stranger."

Emma stood and hugged both of them. "I won't be, I promise."

Once they left, Emma felt an awkward shift in the air as it was just she and Regina. She looked at the woman and bit her lip. "I um, I guess I should head home." She said, referring to her parent's house as her home.

"Oh, well I mean if you want to, but please don't feel like you have to." Regina said, motioning to the living room. "We could watch a movie, or maybe get started on deciding what you're going to do with your house."

Emma smiled, truth be told, she didn't want to leave yet. "Mind if I grab a Coke?"

"Go for it. I got them for you. Wanna pour me some iced tea?"

Emma did so and handed the glass to Regina before following her into the living room. "So, I'm going to sell the house. I can't go back there."

"I figured that would be the case." Regina said sitting on the sofa with her laptop and patting the seat next to her. "So, where is it you're going to live?"

Emma sat and shrugged. "With my parents?"

"Is that what you really want, Emma? If it is, that's fine, I'm not judging, I'm just thinking you'll be able to start fresh and start a new life if you had your own place."

Emma bit her lip and pulled at the sleeves of her shirt. "I…I don't know if I want to be alone."

Regina reached over and put a hand over Emma's. "It's okay. That's okay, Emma. You move at your pace."

"I think…I think I want to see Archie. I know that I have people, and I'm so grateful for that, but I need to talk to someone about it all, you know? I mean, I know I can talk to you but…"

"But I'm so close. Emma, I get it and I'm proud of you for wanting to do that. Why don't you call him, and I'll call and check on Henry?"

Emma nodded and got her phone out as Regina went to her office to call their son and give Emma some privacy. When Regina came out again, Emma had gotten up and was getting her boots on. She looked at Regina and gave a smile. "No time like the present. He said he's free now and I think I should go before I change my mind."

Regina smiled. "That's good Emma. So, I'll drop you off at his office, go get Henry, and he and I are going to your place to take pictures to post in the real-estate ad."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yes, of course I would." Regina said with a smile.

Two emotional hours later, Emma came out of Archie's office to find Regina waiting for her. Her eyes were puffy and red, and she felt exhausted, but she was glad to see Regina. Regina took one look at Emma and got out of her car to walk to her and wrap her arms around the blonde. Emma sank into Regina's arms and cried tears she thought she'd already cried. Regina rubbed Emma's back and whispered to her. "Let it out, Emma. Just let it out. I've got you."

After a bit, Emma's tears stopped, and she was able to calm down. "I'm sorry, Regina. I just…that was harder than I expected it to be."

"Don't apologize. It is hard to self-reflect and relive those moments, but it's needed, Em. It's good for you. Do you at least feel a little better?"

Emma gave a nod and pulled her sleeves down over her hands. "Yeah, actually I do. I feel lighter. Anyway, enough about me, where's Henry?"

"He's at home waiting for us."

"Us? I'm going back to your place?" Emma asked, unable to hide her smile.

"Do you want to? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

"No, I mean yes. It's okay that you assumed, I'd like to go back to your place. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and all they did for me. I just…I feel more comfortable at your house. I don't honestly know why."

Regina smiled. "Good, because I like you at my house." She reached up and wiped the stray tears from Emma's face and had to fight the urge to lean forward and kiss her. Instead, she smiled and tucked some hair behind Emma's ear. "Let's go."

Once home, Emma sat at the bar in the kitchen and talked as Regina cooked. Henry came in and hugged his blonde mother before sitting next to her. "I like having you here, Ma. It's nice to have you both in one home."

Emma smiled a bit and put her hand on his. "I'm glad you like it and I'm glad your mom has let me stay here, but I know one day, I'll have to face being on my own."

Henry looked at her. "You're never on your own, ma. You've always got us."

Before anyone else could say anything, David knocked on the back door and came into the kitchen. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk to you, Emma."

Emma swallowed and was nervous by the way he was acting. Her first thought was that Killian somehow was free. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"It's Killian." Emma felt dizzy and almost passed out, but David came to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "It's not that, Emma. He's dead."

Everything was silent, and it was like time was standing still. "He…he's what?"

Everyone was looking at David as Emma sat back down. He sighed and leaned against the counter. "He was being transported from our jail to the jail in Azlan's kingdom when the van got a flat tire. The two guards went out to fix it and swear they don't know how what happened, happened. All they know is once they fixed the tire, they checked on him and he was dead. Stabbed three times in the chest. They swear they saw no one."

Emma sat stunned as she tried to process this. She honestly didn't know how to feel. Should she be sad or happy? Right now, she just felt nothing. She looked at David and bit her lip. "Who would have done that?"

He sighed. "Emma I…please don't hate me for this but I have to ask. Where were you today?"

"David! You can't possibly think…"

"No Regina. No, I don't think she did it, but they're going to ask. They'll ask all of you, all of us. They already asked Snow and me about it."

"Who?" Emma asked. "Who's going to come question me? Ruby?"

"No. Emma, they're not letting Ruby or I near this one. It'll be someone from another realm, but they've promised me they'll treat you with respect."

Before Emma could answer, there was a knock at the front door. Regina turned the stove off and asked Henry to go to his room before going to answer the door. "Mrs. Mills, I'm officer Jackson and this is Detective Stone. May we come in?"

"Of course." Regina said, opening the door to let them in. "We're in the kitchen."

"I assume David has told you what's going on?" The woman detective asked.

"Yes, he did. It's shocking news." Regina said, not sure what else to say about it as she led them into the kitchen.

Emma stood when they came in and looked so lost. She honestly wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel, much less act.

"Ms. Swan, please sit." Officer Jackson said softly. "I know this is hard and I'm sorry we have to do this."

"It's okay." Emma said as she sat. "I have nothing to hide."

Detective Stone sat down and faced Emma. "Thank you for being cooperative. Can I ask where you were today?"

"I was here until one where I was at a session with Archie…Dr. Hopper until three. Regina picked me up and we came back here."

Officer Jackson made notes and nodded. "Ms. Mills, where were you while Emma was in her session?"

Regina looked at David. "I went to pick up Henry and then he and I went to Emma's house to take pictures for the real-estate ad. Then he was hungry, so we went to Granny's to get him some lunch. I brought him back here before I went to get Emma."

"What time did you leave Granny's?" Stone asked.

Regina thought a moment. "You'd have to ask Granny to be sure, but I think it was around 2:30. I waited out of Dr. Hopper's office for about fifteen to twenty minutes."

"Did anyone see you there while you were waiting?"

Regina shook her head. "No, I waited in my car." She looked at the detective. "You don't think I did it?"

"Ms. Mills, we have to ask everyone these questions." The detective answered. "Seeing as to how you and Ms. Swan seem to be close, we have to rule you out as a suspect."

"There's no way she would have done this, detective." Emma said, defensively. "If Regina would have, it would have been a hell of a lot cleaner and probably would have happened while I was still in the hospital. Regina has been all for going about this legally and being he was found guilty, she had no reason to go after him."

The detective held her hands up. "Okay, let's all calm down please. I'm honestly not trying to start anything. Please understand, I'm simply doing my job."

Regina gave a nod to Emma, telling her it was okay. She looked at the detective. "I understand, and I have nothing to hide. I was just a bit taken aback."

"Is Henry home?" Jackson asked, and Emma grit her teeth.

"He's a child. He didn't do this either."

"I'd just like to talk to him to corroborate everything."

Emma shook her head. "I'm fine with you asking me or Regina what ever you want, but if you're going to talk to my child, you're going to have to wait until I have a lawyer here. I've seen enough documentaries to know how you people work with minors."

"Ms. Swan, please don't upset yourself. I swear to you we are not trying to frame anyone for anything. I understand that you're going through a lot right now and we're not trying to add any more to that." Detective Stone stated, keeping her voice even. "I appreciate all the cooperation you and Ms. Mills are giving us and if you don't want us to talk to Henry, then we won't. However, if you want to be in the room when we talk to him, if you both want to be, that's fine too. We're not here to cause you any added stress or get false confessions." She reached out and lightly touched Emma's hand. "Honestly, we simply want to cross you, Regina, and Henry off our list. I hate that you're on there to begin with, but I hope you can understand why."

Emma closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. When she opened them, they were wet with fresh tears. "Detective, I assure you that none of us did this. This man has made my life hell for the last year and a half and if I was going to kill him, I would have. I wouldn't have put myself through taking him to court only to kill him after he was found guilty. My son and my best friend wouldn't do that either."

"Emma let's just have Henry come down here. No one is trying to fight and neither he nor I have anything to hide." Regina said softly.

Emma nodded and watched Regina go before getting up and going to the window. "I thought once I left him, took him to court, and he was found guilty that I'd be free of him. That was good enough for me." She said quietly to her father. "Dad, no one who is close to me would have done this; there was no reason for anyone to do this."

David came over and gently rubbed Emma's back and kissed the side of her head. "I know baby girl. Just keep being honest and cooperative and they'll figure this out."

"Ma? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Henry asked as he came into the kitchen and saw the officers. "Did he threaten you?"

Emma turned and smiled softly, shaking her head. "No, honey, it's nothing like that."

"Henry, we just have to ask you a few questions. No on is in any trouble." Detective Stone stated, motioning for him to sit. "Your mom tells me that you and she went to Emma's house to take pictures?"

He nodded, still feeling confused. "Yeah. We were there for about a half hour or so and went to Granny's for lunch."

"Then you came home?"

"Yeah. Mom dropped me off because I wanted to play a game that just got released today while she went to get Ma."

"Do you remember what time that was."

"Yeah, because I was supposed to be on at 2:30 with my group of friends, but got shit…I mean got crap from them because I was five minutes late."

"And you and your mother didn't stop anywhere else between Granny's and home?"

Henry shook his head. "No. What's going on?"

Detective Stone smile softly. "It's nothing to worry about, Henry."

Regina put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell you later. Do you mind going back up to your room?"

"Sure." He said, taking another look at everyone before leaving.

"So, did that clear things up for you?" Emma asked, making both Regina and David wonder why she was so harsh with the officers.

Detective Stone looked at Emma. "Ms. Swan? Can we maybe talk outside for a moment?" Emma didn't say anything, but she did open the door and step outside. The detective followed her and closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry if we've offended you in some way, Emma." She said softly. "We honestly are just doing our jobs."

Emma sniffed and turned to face her. "I know. I get that. I'm sorry I just…" She rolled her eyes as they filled with tears. "I don't know how to act or think or feel right now. This man manipulated, berated, beat, and humiliated me for the last year and a half. I wished this man dead for so long but knew that wasn't the answer. I relived everything when he was on trial as if I was the one on trial. I relived everything last night when I took the healing potion. I've relived this over and over and I just want to be done. I thought it was done and even now it's haunting me. I just want to move on and now the ones I love are being questioned. He just won't leave me alone." She said, her tears finally falling.

Detective Stone stepped forward and gently put a hand on Emma's arm. "I'm sorry we had to do this, Emma. I understand that what he did to you was terrible and honestly, it's not a tragic loss that he's gone. But you used to be sheriff, you understand that we can't pick and choose our cases. I'm very sorry for everything that's happened, and I don't think Regina or Henry, or you did this, but we have to do our jobs and cross you off the list."

"I do get it and I'm sorry if I'm being…whatever it is I'm being. I'm just so ready to move on and be done with him and now, it won't happen for a while. I feel like because of what I'm going through, I'm already being a burden on everyone and now, because of this and you having to question them, I'm even more of a burden."

"No, Emma. He's the burden, not you. I get why you think like that, but I promise you, we're not going to be hauling anyone downtown or interrogating. Look, all we have to do is verify with Archie that you were with him and verify with Granny that Regina was there and then you two are done. That's it. Painless."

"Can I ask who else is on your list of suspects?"

"Well your parents were, but they've been eliminated since they were at home and their neighbors confirmed that. Other than Regina, Henry, and you, we only really have Lilly and Maleficent."

"What? Why them? They wouldn't do this."

"Because they have magic, Emma. We think it was someone with Magic since it was done quietly."

"Did you ever think that maybe it was one of the guards and that their story is all made up?"

"Yes. That's another avenue we are looking at."

"Good, because Mal and Lilly were here today until about noon. They didn't do it."

"It happened after that, Emma. Between two and three."

Emma sighed. "They wouldn't do anything like that. Please, just…be nice. Maleficent isn't used to how things work here and Lilly…well she has a history of dealing with police from childhood. Shit don't use that against her. She was never physical, not ever an assault, just a runaway."

Detective Stone put a hand up. "It's okay, Emma. Don't worry. I have nothing against either of them."

Officer Jackson cleared his throat as he stepped out. "Everything came back, boss. Everything adds up with them, they are off the list." He looked at Emma. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, Ms. Swan."

Emma nodded. "I'm sorry for how I acted. Please, just call me Emma."

"It's okay, Emma. I know this can't be easy."

"No kidding. I don't even know how to feel about it."

Detective Stone looked at her. "Hey, it's okay if you feel relieved, or even happy. Emma, no one would blame you."

"I kind of am, but I'm not happy that someone did this. I feel like they did it for me and I didn't ask for it."

"I get that, but you know the truth, Emma. You know you didn't ask for it." She looked at officer Jackson. "We should get going. We have two more to take off the list." They both shook hands with Emma. "Thank you again, Emma."

Once they left, Emma came back in and sat at the table. "Sorry about how I acted." She said to Regina and her father.

"It's okay. Emma, we've been cleared."

"I know. Of course, we were though, we didn't do it."

"Didn't do what? What is going on?" Henry asked, coming back into the kitchen. He sat down and looked at his mothers.

Emma sighed. "Killian is dead."

"What? How?"

"Apparently while the guards were changing a flat tire, he was stabbed to death in the back of the transit van."

Henry sat quietly as he took that in. He then smiled at Emma. "Hey, he's gone then. He can't bother you anymore. That's not a bad thing."

"Sure, I know, but someone killed him." Emma said, trying hard not to smile herself. "No one deserves that."

"Except for him." Regina said, unable to stop herself. Emma looked at her and Regina raised her brow. "What? Emma, you can't think that he didn't deserve it. You didn't do it, I didn't do it, we can both be thankful. It's not bad to…"

"To be happy that someone is dead?" Emma asked.

"To be happy that someone who made your life hell is dead." David stated. "No, it's not bad. I'm not saying we go out and party, but we breathe easier. We can relax, you can relax. Emma, you won't have to worry or look over your shoulder anymore."

Emma nodded. "You're right. Okay, no parties, but I will allow myself to be happy and relaxed."

"Good. Now, I'm going to go call Mal and give her a heads up." Regina stated as she walked to her office.

David looked at Emma. "Are you coming home tonight? Your mom and I miss you."

Emma looked at him. "I told Regina I'd stay for dinner." She felt guilty at his look of disappointment. "I'll come home."

"No Emma. You don't have to."

"No, you and mom helped me a lot and I should spend more time with you."

"You should want to though, Emma and if you'd rather stay here, that's your choice and you're free to make it. No hard feelings, I promise."

"How about if you, Snow, and Neal come here for dinner?" Regina asked as she came back in. "A nice big family dinner."

Emma smiled and so did David. "Sure. I'll go get them." He stated and looked at Henry. "Wanna drive?"

"Yes!" Henry jumped up and took David's keys.

"I didn't hear that." Regina stated with a grin. Once David and Henry left, Regina looked at Emma. "Hey, are you okay?"

Emma, who was lost in thought looked at Regina and nodded. "Yeah."

"Why don't I believe you?"

Emma sighed. "Because you know me better than anyone."

"So, tell me what's wrong." Regina said, sitting next to Emma.

"Everything sucks, Regina. Ever since this all happened, I'm burdening everyone even more. Now, they're all supporting me and being questioned by the police. Now, by me staying here, I'm making my parents miss me and all of that makes me feel guilty."

Regina moved behind Emma and started massaging her shoulders and neck. "Tell me something, Swan. Did you kill Killian?"

"No. You know I didn't."

"Did you ask someone to? Hire someone to? Even hint for someone to?"

"No, Regina. Of course, I…"

"Then why do you feel guilty for that? Someone did this and you have no reason to feel guilty for it." She moved her hands to the back of Emma's neck. "As far as your parents go, Emma, you're an adult and you're allowed to stay where ever you want to stay. I'm sure they wouldn't want you to do anything out of guilt."

"Are you? Are you really sure about that? Because they're really good at that." Emma said, letting more out than she ever had before. "You know, they're so good at guilting me into doing things. They don't come to see me at all when I took the powers of The Dark One, and yet, there I am saving everyone when they need me. Why? Because 'you're a hero, Emma. You have to save everyone'."

Regina used her thumbs to get a knot out of Emma's neck. "Did you talk to them about it?"

"Of course not. I don't do that."

"Exactly. So, they don't change. Emma, I know you want to keep the past in the past and move forward, but I really think you having a conversation about all of this pent-up anger needs to be done."

Emma was quiet for a moment. "Archie said that too." She said quietly. "I just don't know how to do that. I don't want to upset them."

"If you do upset them, that's their problem. They need to understand that you need this, Ems. They will understand."

Emma nodded and then put her hand over Regina's. "Thank you. Now, what can I do to help with dinner?"


	9. Chapter 9

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Ch. 9**

Emma was quiet as she sat with her family having dinner. She just pushed her food around as the others talked. Snow had glanced at her daughter a few times and finally couldn't stay quiet. "Emma? Are you okay?"

Emma looked at her mom and then shrugged a bit. "I guess."

Regina sighed, seeing what was going on. She reached over and put her hand over Emma's. "It's not your fault, Emma. I'll keep saying it until you believe me."

Snow knitted her brows. "Of course it's not your fault, Emma, you didn't do it."

"I know, but someone did, and they did it because of what he did to me. I can't help but feel guilty, even if he did deserve it, and that makes me feel guiltier just thinking that." She put her fork down and looked at them. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to ruin dinner."

"You're not, Emma." Snow said, putting her hand over her daughter's. "So, change of topic, are you living here now?" She asked casually before going back to her food. Emma blinked, not sure what to say and looked to Regina for help. Regina looked just as much a deer in the headlights as Emma did. David looked at both of them and chuckled at their reaction, causing Snow to look as well. "Oh, come on. It's not like I'm blind or stupid. For whatever reason, you're more comfortable here and that's okay. Yes, I miss you and yes, I loved having you at home, but I can't stop you if you'd rather be here. I just hope you two don't jump into anything too fast."

Emma looked down. "I just feel safe here. I don't have nightmares when we're in bed. I…I don't feel like I'm intruding here."

"You're not intruding at our house either, Em." David said softly. "But, I agree with your mother. If you feel better here, then here you will stay."

"At least for now." Emma said. "I can't go back to that house and I don't want to be alone. Regina doesn't mind me staying here."

"It's okay, Emma, you don't have to explain." Snow said softly. "Just know that you are always welcome home and you are not a burden. That's all."

Even though Snow said everything kindly, Emma sensed she was upset. The blonde just couldn't deal with that right now and honestly just felt exhausted. "I'm sorry but I think I'm going to bed. I'm so tired after everything today. Regina, I can clean up in the morning."

Regina shook her head. "It's okay, Henry and I will clean up. You go lay down and sleep." She squeezed Emma's hand and watched her go before looking at Henry. "She's okay, just had an emotional day."

Henry nodded though he was worried about his blonde mother. "I'm kind of tired too." He said his round of good nights and headed up to his own room leaving the three remaining.

"I really hope it wasn't something I said." Snow said softly as she started picking up plates. "I didn't mean to upset her."

Regina shook her head. "It wasn't anything you said, Snow. She had a long appointment with Archie that was emotional and then the news about Hook, she's just exhausted."

"I don't really know why she's taking the news about him so badly. It's a relief he's gone. He can't do anything to her anymore." Snow admitted as she and Regina took the dishes to the sink. David got Neal and started getting his coat on.

Regina looked at Snow, a bit surprised. "Well, I think it's that part of her that feels like no one deserves to be murdered, that everyone deserves a fair punishment. She thinks that whoever did this thinks she wanted it and she didn't."

"Maybe the person who did it wanted to give Emma some peace. Maybe they wanted to do something for her."

Regina stopped and looked at Snow, lifting her chin to meet her eyes. She saw the bit of fear and uncertainty and knew instantly. "You know who did this, don't you?"

Snow finally met brown eyes and held them with a bit of defiance. "Maybe I do. No one else will though. They will find that those guards did not properly restrain him and that he stabbed himself."

"Why? He was going to be punished." Regina said, releasing Snow, not entirely knowing how she felt about this news.

"I failed her already, Regina. I was selfish and sent her to this world all alone and she suffered. I know she suffered even if I can't listen to the details. I don't even know if she wants to tell me the details and it's so bad of me, but I don't want to hear them. I was her roommate before the curse broke and I remember her nightmares. I heard some of the things she'd cry or yell in her sleep and I did that." Snow's eyes were now so full of tears they were spilling. "I sent my baby to a world that hurt her so badly she still has nightmares. Then, I failed her again when I refused to see what was right in front of me. She came to me, Regina, and I turned her away. I turned my baby away because Neal was sick, but she needed me. She was hurting and once again, she was sent away." Snow sat on the stool by the bar before her legs would give out on her. "I should have seen it. The signs were all there and I didn't even see them. I never should have let her go so long without seeing one of us. She still had nightmares when she stayed with us, but these were new and fresh, and they killed me. I…I failed her so badly, Regina. No wonder she doesn't want to stay at home, no wonder she doesn't want to be around us. I had to do something. I had to." When she finished, her head was in her hands and she wasn't expecting to feel comforting hands on her shoulders. Because she thought they were Regina's, she was surprised when she heard Emma's voice. It was quiet, almost a whisper, but it was there.

"You never failed me, mom." Emma's own tears flowed down her face. She had come down to say a better goodbye and had ended up hearing everything. At first, she was upset, but when she heard her mother talk about the guilt she had and how she felt, she couldn't stay angry at all. "When I was little, and things were really bad, I always hoped, wished, and prayed for someone to save me. I often fantasied that my parents were out there somewhere and one day…one day they'd come and save me." Emma sniffed and moved as Snow turned to face her. She cupped her mother's face. "I never knew that it would be me saving them. Mom, for so long I held onto anger and hurt from my past, but then I realized it's not worth it. It's not worth being mad over my past. You didn't tell those people to hurt me, you didn't tell them to not love me, to send me back, to give me up. There's no point in being mad at you and dad because it's not your fault." Emma sat on the stool next to Snow, taking her hands. "Mom, you have to stop blaming yourself and feeling guilty over my life, because I've moved on and I don't blame you."

Snow leaned over and hugged Emma tightly. "I'm sorry we never had this conversation before. I'm sorry we haven't talked about it. I never knew how to bring it up and I'm sorry if that hurt you."

"Maybe it did at first, but I get it, and I'm glad you didn't force a conversation." Emma sighed and wiped her eyes. "Mom, you…you killed him. Even if in your heart it was for the right reasons, you shouldn't have done that."

Snow looked down. "I know. Emma, he not only physically hurt you, but he made you feel so worthless. You're my baby, I couldn't let him get away with that." She looked at Emma and cupped her cheek. "I'll turn myself in, Emma. Don't worry."

Emma shook her head. "You can't do that. Neal needs you, mom."

"Emma's right." Regina stated. "Besides, the damage is already done. Snow, this has to be it since you and Charming have half a heart each, it's going to get darker faster."

"This is it. Well….as long as no one hurts either of my babies again." She looked between Emma and Regina. "You're both mothers, you know what it feels like to protect your child."

Regina came over and put her hand on Snow's shoulder. "I'm not at all saying that I think you did wrong. I won't deny that I would have loved to off him myself, but what I am saying is no matter the reason, killing someone darkens the heart."

"I know. I knew that going into it, but it was worth it for Emma. The foul things that man said to me before…he had no regrets at all." She looked at her daughter. "Emma, I have to turn myself in."

Just then, there was a knock at the door and they heard David answer it. Footsteps were heard coming towards the kitchen and Snow stood as she saw detective Stone. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we got some new information through out the day and I wanted to let you know in person."

Emma took Snow's arm as she went to step forward and stepped in front of her mother. "What new information?"

There was a look between the detective and Snow before the detective looked back at Emma. "We're dropping the investigation. One of the guards said he may not have properly restrained Mr. Jones and that he did this to himself. Now, I personally don't believe that, but I accept it because honestly, whoever did do this had good reason to. I can only imagine the pain and anger of whoever did this and that person will have to live with it for the rest of their lives." She looked back at Snow. "However, that person will also know they protected someone they loved."

Emma couldn't help but be a bit surprised at that. "But he was being locked up, I didn't need protection."

The detective opened a folder and produced a piece of paper from it, handing it to Emma. "They found this in his possessions. Emma, he wasn't done with you."

Emma's hand shook as she took the paper. On it was her name, followed by horrible names he'd call her. After that was a list of different way to kidnap her, torture her, and eventually kill her. There was also a list of names of who was on the outside that he could ask for help. Emma's stomach flipped, and she thought she would be sick. Regina was behind her, holding her up as she looked at the paper as well.

"I assure you that we have talked to every person on that list and they were all surprised by this and said they'd never agree to this. Because they didn't actually do anything, all we can do is give them a warning and we'll have them watched over the next few weeks. Emma, I honestly do not feel you have anything to fear."

"She doesn't. She'll be protected." Regina said as she gently rubbed Emma's back. "Emma, you're safe. He's gone, okay?"

Emma just nodded, still staring at the paper. The words "cunt, whore, pig, bitch, tie her up, gut her out, stab her over and over" all causing her vision to blur. She had no idea what it was she did to make anyone, much less someone who claimed to love her want to hurt her so bad. Emma didn't notice the detectives leave, but she noticed it was quieter. She looked up and saw her parents and Regina all looking at her. "What's wrong with me?" She asked quietly, her eyes filling with tears.

"What do you mean, Princess?" David asked, his heart breaking at the site of his daughter. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"There is! There always has been! Why? What is it and why won't anyone tell me? Why do people like to hurt me?" Emma was pretty much yelling and sobbing at this point. She threw the paper at her father. "What did I do that was so wrong that I deserve this? What is so fundamentally wrong with me that, as far back as I can remember, no one has wanted me? Everyone threw me away. Used me until they got bored and threw me away. Why?" Regina tried to go to Emma, but she pulled away, falling as she did so. She crawled back until her back was to the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. She rocked back and forth as she let sob after sob escape her. "I try so hard to be a good person. I just don't know what is wrong with me."

Snow grabbed David's hand as she watched Emma pull away from Regina. She didn't know what to do to help her baby girl and it killed her. If Emma wouldn't let Regina close to her, there's no way she'd let Snow. At Emma's last words, however, Snow shook her head and went to her daughter. Emma tried to push her, but Snow wouldn't move. She wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter, rocking and crying with her. "Let it out, Emma. Let it all out. I'm here, you're safe. I've got you."

David went to Emma's other side and held her as well, letting his daughter cry. "We've got you, Emma. Your mom is right, let it all out. We're here."

Regina's heart broke as she heard Emma's sobs over her parent's words. She felt out of place but couldn't leave at the same time. She wiped her tears as she moved to sit on the floor just a bit away from the group.

"Mom?" Henry's voice sounded so small as he finally made himself known at the door. He looked worried and scared and sad all at once. "Mom are you okay? What happened?"

Regina reached for him and he came over to her, sitting in her lap. "Your mom's just having a hard time, Henry." She whispered to him, her voice breaking. "Sometimes people need to break down and let out their emotions and your mom is finally doing that."

"I don't like seeing her so upset." Henry whispered back, his big eyes looking at his mother's for reassurance.

"I know, Henry, but she needs this." Regina hugged Henry and the two of them sat together as Emma's sobs died down and eventually stopped.

David looked down and then over at Regina. "I…I think she fell asleep."

Snow cupped Emma's cheeks and kissed her forehead. "You sleep, my baby girl. Dream only good dreams." She whispered.

"Do you want me to take her upstairs?" David asked as he wiped the tears from Emma's face.

"If you don't mind. I'm too exhausted to use too much magic." Regina said as she and Henry stood. "Henry, show your grandfather to my room. I know we have the guest room, but I don't want Emma alone tonight."

Henry nodded and lead the way upstairs as Regina went to Snow and wrapped her in a hug. "Snow, you did the right thing. You hugged her even when she tried to push you away and she needed that right then." Regina saw how exhausted Snow looked as well. "Hey, why don't you, David, and Neal take the guest room? You all have to be tired after all this today."

Snow nodded slowly and moved to wipe her face. She saw the paper that had been found in Killian's cell and before she could stop herself, she grabbed it and shredded it to pieces. Regina didn't stop her and as David came down, she did use a bit of magic to conjure them up some clothes. "I've invited your family to stay in the guestroom, David." Regina said, handing him clothes. "You're all exhausted. Where's Henry?"

"He wanted to stay by Emma." David hugged Regina and then grabbed Neal. "Good night, Regina. Please wake us if we're needed."

Regina locked up and followed them up the stairs, going into her room and closing the door. She looked at the bed and saw Henry cuddled up with Emma and she smiled. Using her magic, the three of them were in their pajamas and Regina got into bed and snuggled Emma from behind, her arm going beyond the blonde, so her hand was resting on Henry's arm.

In the middle of the night, Emma woke up feeling almost as if she was hungover. Her head was heavy, and she knew she had been crying. However, she felt such warmth within her and around her and she knew there was more than just her in the bed. The blonde smiled when she felt Regina behind her, holding her and making her feel like she was safe. In front of her was Henry, her son, her one good thing she did in life. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her nose into his hair, taking in all of him. Then she remembered what happened the night before and her smile quickly changed. Did Henry see her break down? Did he think she's weak? Did he love her any less? She was starting to have a panic attack and had to get out of the bed. Carefully, she crawled to the bottom of the bed and then went into the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the tub and bent down so her head was between her legs. Why was she so weak? Why did she let her son see her like that? It was bad enough her parents and Regina saw her like that, but Henry too?

There was a soft knock at the door and Emma got up, going to it and opening it. There was the subject of her thoughts, staring at her as if she may break. "Mom? Are you okay? You look so pale and you're shaking."

"I'm…I'm okay."

"Don't lie to me, Ma." Henry said, pleading with her with his eyes. "You can tell me anything."

Emma blinked some tears away as she sighed. She looked towards the bed and then pulled him into the bathroom. "I don't want to wake Regina up." She said as she closed the door. She sat on the edge of the tub again as Henry put the toilet seat cover down and sat down. Emma took a breath and rested her elbows on her legs, looking at Henry. "I had a breakdown tonight, Henry, and judging by the fact that you're all cuddled in bed with us, you must have seen it. I don't like the thought of you seeing me break down. I don't want you to think I'm weak."

Henry stood and then knelt in front of his mother, putting his hands over hers. "You are the strongest person I know, mom. You and mom, you both have gone through so much and fought through so much and you've survived. Ma, I could never, ever think of you as weak. Ever. Honestly, I was glad to see you break down because you needed it. You needed to cry, to let someone comfort you. You needed to let yourself fall and let someone else catch you. I think grandma and grandpa were glad they were here when you did that."

Emma listened to Henry and then pulled him into a hug. "You're the best kid I could ever ask for."

"You guys going to stay in there all night?" Regina asked from the door. "The bed is getting cold."

Emma wiped her face and smiled as she made her way back to the bed. Once again, she held Henry and Regina held her. She knew that things were going to be different now, that she was over the worst. She knew that she could now move on.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Read~Enjoy~Review** _

**Chapter 10**

Emma stayed in bed the next few days, saying she was just too tired to get up and do anything. It took everything in her to even go to the shower and change clothes. If it weren't for Regina making her eat, she wouldn't have, and even then, she threw most of the food away without Regina knowing. While Regina understood Emma's depression, it still worried her and she wondered if she was doing the right thing by giving into her. On the fifth day, Regina had enough. She waited until Henry was off to school and then went into the bedroom and opened the curtains, letting the sun in. She turned around when Emma groaned and crossed her arms.

"Emma, it's time to get up." She said firmly. "Come on, I have breakfast ready for you once you shower."

Emma groaned and buried herself under the covers more. "I'm too tired."

"You won't be tired once you get up, Emma." Regina said, going to the side of the bed. She pulled the covers down and off the bed, making Emma curl up.

"Regina, it's too bright and cold. I don't want to get up. I can't."

Regina sat on the bed and rubbed Emma's back. "You can, Emma. I know it's hard, I know you're sad and depressed, but it's not going to get better by staying in bed."

Emma moved away from Regina. "You don't know that. You don't get it."

"I do get it, Emma. I've been there." Regina said softly. "When I was married to Leopold, I was so depressed. I stayed in bed for days and then I even tried to end it."

Emma opened her eyes slowly and looked at Regina. "You tried to kill yourself?" She asked quietly.

"Yes." Regina admitted. "So I do get it, Emma. I had someone save me and now I'm saving you. Please, get up, shower, get dressed and come downstairs." She gazed at the blonde. "I need you, Emma. Henry needs you. We need you in our lives and I'm not letting you just give up."

Emma was too ashamed to even look at Regina. "Okay." She said quietly.

Regina gave a nod and stood up. "I'll see you in thirty minutes. If you're not downstairs and I have to come back up here, you'll regret it." She then left the room and went back downstairs. She had made a full breakfast for Emma and was keeping it warm for her.

Emma sighed and laid in bed for just a few moments, stretching. She thought about what Regina said and felt guilty. She knew she had been acting wrong lately, but it was so much easier to sleep than to get up and think about things. The words Killian wrote still bothered her and still triggered times when not only he, but past foster parents would yell and scream at her and verbally abuse her. Then the memories of physical abuse would start and Emma just couldn't deal with it all. So, she slept. But now, Regina wasn't letting her sleep and a very small and selfish part of her wished he was at her parents so she could just sleep. She knew that wasn't fair though, so she tried to not think like that. Regina had said that she needed her and that made her broken heart mend just a little bit. Henry needed her too and she knew that. She had such an amazing and understanding kid, but she knew she needed to do better for him. Tonight was his homecoming dance for school and he had a date and she knew he'd want her to see him and not have her stay in her bed. There'd only be one more homecoming since he was in his junior year.

Emma sighed and got up, feeling a bit dizzy as she did so. She had spent the last week laying down and her body needed to adjust. In the bathroom, she avoided the mirror as she stripped and turned the shower on. She knew what she'd see; dead hair, dead eyes, dark circles, and too thin a body. She was wasting away and she knew it. She spent a bit more time in the shower than planned, but the hot water on her body felt good, so she enjoyed it. When she was done, she wrapped her hair in one towel and her body in another. She again avoided the mirror and went to the room to get dressed. She didn't notice Regina was in the room so she dropped her towel after picking out clothes. The gasp scared her and she turned around, clutching the clothes to her chest. "Fuck Regina. You scared the shit out of me."

"Emma…" Regina said, still gazing at her. "Emma, you're…you have to eat." Regina felt tears in her eyes, seeing Emma's ribs and other bones. "You're far too thin. Even more thin than you were when you first left Killian."

Emma's chin wobbled as her eyes filled with tears. She felt so ashamed and embarrassed, so she did what she did best; she ran. She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door, locking it behind her. She sat on the bathroom rug and rocked back and forth as she tried hard to not cry. She never wanted Regina to look at her like that and she felt like things would never be the same.

There was a soft knock at the door. "Emma? Emma I'm so sorry. Please come out here, Emma. Please."

Regina was practically begging and that wasn't something the woman did often. Emma sighed and took a couple big, deep breaths. "Can you give me a couple minutes, please?"

"Of course. Emma, just…I'm sorry." Regina said before walking away from the door and sitting on the now made bed. She felt so guilty and was so mad at herself for how she just reacted. It was just so shocking! Emma was already thin after leaving Killian, but this was so much worse. She blamed herself; she was supposed to be taking care of Emma and it was obvious she failed.

Emma got dressed and took the towel from her hair down and finally looked herself in the mirror. She looked terrible. Horrible. She knew why Regina acted as she did and she hated herself for it. Emma looked down and saw a pair of scissors. Thoughts ran through her mind as he picked them up. Some bad and some good, but she acted on them.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Regina looked up, surprised by what she saw. "Emma? I…I like it."

Emma let out what sounded like a sob. "I hate it! I don't even know why I did it!" She stood there with scissors in one hand and hair in the other. She had cut her long, blonde locks to just above her shoulders. She still had no idea why she did it, but now she regretted it. "Regina, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I…I never meant to get this bad. I didn't know I was getting this skinny."

Regina went to Emma and took the scissors and wrapped her arms around Emma. "I'm sorry, Emma. I was supposed to be taking care of you and I've failed."

Emma shook her head and pulled away. "No! You didn't fail, Regina. Don't you get it? It's me! It's always me! I'm so fucked up that no one can help me. I fuck up everything I do. You don't need me, Henry doesn't need me, you'd both be so much better without me."

Regina grabbed Emma's arms and pulled her close. "Do not ever let me hear you say that again. None of it! You're not fucked up Emma Swan, and Henry and I would never be better with out you! You brought us together, Emma! You brought me my son back, you make us a family!" Tears flowed from Regina's eyes. "We can't be a family without you, we can't be anything without you, and we don't _want_ to _be_ with out you!" Regina cupped Emma's cheeks. "Now, we're going to fix your hair, go eat, and go see Archie. Then, we're coming home and you're going to get ready. Once we see Henry off, I'm taking you out on a date."

Emma's head spun. "Wait, what? A date?"

"Yes. If you want to, that is. We already sleep in the same bed, I think it's past time for our first date." Emma couldn't help but laugh and it felt so good she laughed some more. Regina joined in and then stopped, stroking Emma's cheek. "Emma Swan, will you go out with me tonight?" She asked, almost shyly.

Emma took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes Regina, I'd love too."

Regina kissed Emma's cheek. "Okay good. Now, go sit on the chair in front of my make up and I'll even out your hair. I really do like it, Em. It's edgy."

Emma sighed and lifted her hand to her hair. "I don't know what I was thinking." She admitted as she went to sit in front of the vanity. She looked in the mirror and sighed. "It's so short."

Regina came behind her and ran her fingers through it. "If you really don't like it, it will grow back. I honestly do think it's nice though." She started cutting, making it even. She then went to her bathroom and came out with some products. She scrunched in some mousse and sprayed and smiled. "Emma, you have natural curls when you let it air dry. This is fricken gorgeous."

Emma opened her eyes and blinked a few times. "Wow. Regina you did amazing. Thank you."

Regina simply shrugged. "It's nothing. Come on, let's get some food into you."

Emma quietly followed Regina and sat at the island in the kitchen. Regina gave her the plate that was filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and a side plate of pancakes. Emma mixed the eggs with the hash browns and added ketchup before taking a bite. "So good. Thank you." She felt as though she hadn't eaten for days, and maybe she hadn't, not really. She finished the main plate and then finished the pancakes as well. Along the way, she drank two full glasses of milk and a cup of coffee. Normally, Regina would be making comments about how she was eating or be repulsed by it, but right now, she was just glad Emma was eating at all.

"Okay, so while you're with Archie, I'm going to stop by the shop and pick up Henry's suit. Is there anything I can pick up for you?"

Emma was rinsing off her plate and shrugged. "Maybe some job applications?" She put the dishes in the dishwasher and turned. "Maybe if I had something to do during the day, I wouldn't sit and focus on all the shit."

"Emma, if that's really what you want, your job is always open at the Sheriff's station. Your dad knew and agreed that when he took the position, it was yours again should you ever want it back. We have plenty in the budget for you to work there and no one has to leave."

Emma thought about it. "I just don't know. Who's going to respect a sheriff who let herself get abused?"

"Everyone. Emma, the town loves you and trusts you." Regina grabbed her keys. "But I get it if you just want to try something else. I just know you're so good at what you do."

Emma nodded and slipped her boots on. "I'll think about it and talk to my dad." In the car, she looked towards Regina. "You know, mom said the school has an opening for a student councilor. I wish I had the qualifications for that."

Regina looked at her and then back at the road. "So maybe you go back to school?" Regina suggested. "I mean, there's plenty of online options. Maybe you work part time at the station if you really feel the need to and then do online schooling."

Emma shrugged, watching out the window. "Maybe."

Regina didn't push it as she drove to Archie's. She knew that, in reality, none of them _had_ to work; their money came over in the curse, but she knew how it felt to actually work and how meaningful it could make life. Regina had made Emma an appointment and was glad the blonde wasn't fighting her on it. She parked and turned towards Emma. "Would you like me to come in with you?"

Emma shook her head. "Thanks, but no. I'll be okay." She leaned over and kissed Regina's cheek. "Thank you for not giving up on me."

"Never." Regina stated and watched Emma go into the office. She was so proud of her and again marveled at how strong the woman was.

An hour later, Regina was in her car going through the emails on her phone when Emma came out of the office. She had been crying, but she was smiling now. She got in the car and hugged Regina. "Thank you, Regina. Thank you so much for all your love and support. Thank you for making me feel like I deserve so much more than even I feel I do."

Regina just smiled and hugged Emma back. "Emma, thank you for fighting." She wiped at a tear. "Come on, let's get home before Henry."

Once home, Emma made her and Regina sandwiches and they waited for Henry to come home. Once he did, he smiled wide when he saw that Emma was up and dressed. "Ma? Your hair! It's…wow. It's so pretty."

Emma smiled and hugged him. "Thanks. It wasn't planned. Are you excited for tonight?"

Henry nodded with a smile. "Yeah." He looked at the clock. "I've got to get ready. I'm picking Grace up in half an hour."

"Picking her up? On what, your bike?" Emma asked, looking at him.

"No." He beamed. "Gramps is letting me drive his truck. Mom won't let me take the car, even though I have my license, but Gramps said I can take the truck. It's outside now."

"Huh, I didn't even notice. Well, at least there's no backseat." Emma said, winking at Regina.

"No, but the back of a truck _is_ called a bed." Henry said before running up the stairs, leaving his mother's in shock.

"He was kidding, right? He's not having sex yet, right?" Emma asked, her heart pounding.

"I…I don't know. I hope not." Regina said, feeling the same shock.

"I'm not having sex!" Henry called down from his room.

When Henry was ready, he came down and did a twirl in his suit. "How handsome do I look?"

Emma looked at her son and shrugged. "I guess you'll do."

Henry looked affronted and then looked at Regina.

"She's kidding. You look so handsome my little prince." She said going over and hugging him and kissing his cheek.

Emma grinned. "I bet you like my answer better. It didn't involve kissing."

Henry rolled his eyes. "I don't mind mom's kisses…every now and then."

Emma went over and hugged him. "You look great, kid." She then fixed his tie as Regina went to the fridge pulling out the corsage she bought for him to give to Grace. It matched their school colors and Henry kissed Regina's cheek.

"Thanks for getting that, Mom."

After a few dozen pictures, Henry was finally able to drive off, leaving his moms behind.

"I cannot believe he's a junior and going to a high school dance." Regina said with a sigh.

"I know. It's crazy." Emma put her arm around Regina. "You did such a good job with him."

"We both did, Em. Now, go upstairs and get dressed for our date."

Emma gave a nod but didn't move. "Regina, I…I don't really have anything that fits right now that's good enough for a date."

"Lucky for you this isn't a dress up date. I've put some options on the bed for you in the guest room so I can use my room to get ready." Regina went in, not letting Emma argue or have any more self-doubt. She went to her room and changed into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a sweat shirt over it. She then got her hiking boots on and checked her phone after sending Granny a message. Granny informed her that it was all ready and Regina thanked her.

Emma went to the guest room and was confused on the clothing on the bed. With a shrug, she slipped on jeans, her tank, and a hoodie along with the boots Regina had left by the bed. She came out and waited for Regina by the stairs. When Regina came out, Emma raised a brow. "What kind of date is this?"

"One that is going to keep us away from the dating high schoolers but will get us out of the house. Come on." Regina said, taking Emma's hand. She used her magic to take them into town, appearing behind Granny's. "I'll be right back. Wait here."

Emma leaned against the building as Regina went in the back door of the diner.

"Emma? Oh I thought that was you. How are you?" Came a voice that Emma didn't recognize at first. When she looked over, she smiled.

"Hey Ms. Jameson. I'm doing well, how are you?"

"I'm good. I miss seeing you around town though. I do hope that you'll come back to the station one day." The woman gave a smile and touched Emma's arm. "I understand that you're healing and I do hope that's going well."

Emma smiled at the woman who only had good intentions. "It is. I have my good days and bad, but Regina is a huge help and so is Dr. Hopper. I honestly didn't know if anyone would want me back as sheriff. I mean, who wants a victim as a sheriff?"

"I'd like a _survivor_ as my sheriff. I mean once you're feeling more like yourself. Emma, you were wonderful before and after the curse. I feel safe when you're in the office because you care so much about everyone. We care about you too, I can promise you that."

"Thank you, Ms. Jameson. That means a lot. To be honest, I'm deciding what I want to do. Part of me wants to go back to school and maybe be a counselor for kids. I just feel like this is a new start and I know I have options."

"Oh that would be wonderful, Emma. You're a bright young woman and you're right, you have a new start. Just know, the town is here to support you."

Regina cleared her throat as she came out with a picnic basket and bag in hand. "Hello Ms. Jameson."

"Oh, hello dear. I see you two must be on your way somewhere, so I'll leave you alone. Emma, no matter what you do, please don't be a stranger." She looked at Regina with a smile. "You take care of her, make her eat more, she looks peckish."

Regina smiled back. "I plan on it, Ms. Jameson. Have a good evening."

As the couple started walking, Regina leading Emma, she looked at the blonde. "What was that about?"

Emma smiled softly. "Just about how she missed me around town and at the station and how she'd like to see me back there. Something about how the town is here to support me. All good things and all things I didn't know I needed to hear."

Regina smiled. "That's good. All true, and good." Regina took Emma's hand. "I don't feel like actually hiking, my love, so we're doing this the easy way."

The next moment, smoke cleared as Emma looked around in awe. They were up high on the edge of one of the bluffs in the Storybrooke Forest looking out over the ocean. "It's beautiful up here." The view made Emma feel so small and yet so big at the same time.

Regina looked around and smiled. Maleficent and Lilly had done as she asked and set up a beautiful setting for them. "Emma? Come sit."

"Sit? Where?" Emma asked as she turned around "Oh. Wow, Regina, you did all this?" The blonde went to the small table and pulled out Regina's chair before sitting in her own. She loved the twinkling lights and the small white tent behind the table. She could imagine laying in there with Regina and watching the sun set over the horizon.

"I had help." Regina admitted as she sat and unpacked the picnic basket. Granny had packed everything Regina asked for and more. On Emma's plate, she placed two grilled cheese sandwiches, an order of onion rings and a small side salad that she figured wouldn't get eaten. On her own plate, she had a larger side salad with a grilled chicken salad sandwich. "It's not exactly fancy romantic food but…"

Emma looked and interrupted. "It's perfect." She felt tears in her eyes as she realized how much thought went into something as simple as dinner. "Regina, you didn't have to do all this?"

"Why not?" The brunette asked. "Why shouldn't you be spoiled, Emma? I am trying to woo you here, I had to pull out all the stops and that included grilled cheese." Regina smiled at Emma and reached to wipe a tear from Emma's face. "You deserve this and so much more. Now, let's enjoy this before the sun sets."

"Thank you." Emma said quietly as she picked up one of the sandwiches. "You don't have to try and woo me, Regina." She said, taking a bite. She swallowed and looked at the woman. "I want to be with you. I just want to make sure I'm ready, you know? Make sure I don't do this wrong."

"I get it, and maybe this is soon, but Emma, I couldn't stand seeing you just lay in bed. I wanted to get you out. That being said, this doesn't have to be a romantic date if you're not ready for that. This is just two friends enjoying food and scenery."

Emma thought a bit as she ate more. "Maybe a little of both?"

Regina smiled. "A bit of both."

The two ate and talked, enjoying each other's company. Emma finished her second glass of cider and sat back. "I think I should switch to water. Your cider is stronger than it tastes if I remember right."

Regina chuckled. "It's not like you have to drive, Emma. Have another."

"Trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?" Emma asked, nothing but humor in her face and voice.

"Not at all. I would never take advantage of you. In fact, even if you begged me, I wouldn't take you to bed tonight, Emma. You're not ready for that and I completely respect that."

Emma was quiet as she sipped her cider. No one had ever cared that much about her feelings before. "Thank you." She said quietly. Then she nodded towards the horizon. "The sun is setting."

With a waive of the hand, the table and everything with it was gone and Regina looped her arm through Emma's. "Come on." She lead Emma into the open tent and gestured to many pillows on a blanket. "Make yourself comfortable." She said as she removed her boots.

Emma did the same and then laid on her stomach over the blanket, looking out over the ocean. "It's beautiful." She said again as Regina laid next to her.

"It really is." Regina said, but she wasn't looking at the sunset, she was looking at Emma. The soft pink and gold light surrounding the blonde brought out features Regina had never noticed before. She had light freckles that kissed her cheeks and her eyes were such a deep shade of green in this light. She also noticed worry lines around her eyes and mouth and hoped that one day, she'd be able to take those away from her.

"Regina, you're staring at me." Emma said before looking at her. "The view is out there."

"No, that's where you're wrong. The view I have is the most amazing view I've ever seen. Emma? When did you get freckles?"

Emma felt the blush creep to her face and she looked down. "When I was a kid, I'd guess. I hate them and try to cover them up. Killian always said…"

Regina put her finger over Emma's lips. "No. We're not talking about him and the bullshit he fed you." She moved her hand to stroke over Emma's cheeks and her freckles. "They're beautiful, Emma. You're beautiful. Don't hide them, okay? Don't hide anything about you."

Emma swallowed and nodded. "Okay." She bit her lip as green orbs gazed at brown. She then looked to Regina's lips and then back at her eyes. Regina gave the smallest of nods and Emma leaned forward, kissing her. It was a kiss like she'd never felt before, a kiss that stopped time, a kiss she'd only read about in romance novels, but it was even better than those. All too soon, it ended, and Emma knew she was pouting.

"That's enough for tonight, Emma. It was amazing, and I want to do it again, but we're going to miss the sun set."

Emma chuckled and looked out. "I think we already did."

Regina smiled and rested her head on the pillow. "Totally worth it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to say it, but we've come to the end. I don't really want to drag this out to be a big series (like my other stories lol) and I just want Emma to have her happy ending. I may pick it back up later, but for now, here's to A Happy Ending

**Chapter 11**

Over the next few months, Emma's life started to become normal again. She went to see Archie three times a week, her nightmares were fewer and fewer, and she started gaining weight and looking healthier. She was happier as well, everyone could see that, and everyone was happy to see it. Most people had enough respect to not bombard the blonde, but Emma noticed the looks they'd give; the reassuring smiles, the nods, the waves. She was finally to the point where she could smile, nod, and wave back.

Emma also worked out time to be with her parents as they worked on their relationship as well. In many ways, it was a long time coming, but in others, it was just nice to have her parents. Snow and Emma would go shopping and meet at Granny's to just sit and talk while David and Emma would practice with sword fighting and go horseback riding in the woods. That was a secret Emma kept from Regina because she had something special for the woman planned.

Things with Regina were as close to perfect as could be expected. No relationship was perfect, Emma knew that, but the little fights they had did bother her at first. At first, she'd just always give in, not wanting to make Regina mad, she'd cower when Regina would raise her voice, or on the flip side, she'd lash out at Regina for something so small. Regina knew why, she knew it was due to all Emma's past relationships, not just the one with Killian, but it didn't make it easier in the moment. Regina did her best to be understanding and patient, but it hurt her sometimes. It hurt her when Emma would flinch as if Regina would actually hit her. Regina had suggested that one of Emma's sessions be couples counselling and Emma readily agreed. If asked, neither could give an exact date on when they officially became a couple, but for Emma, it was so much easier and natural than any relationship she'd had in the past.

At first, Emma was concerned about what others in the town would think of her being in another relationship so quickly, but she found that either no one cared, or they were very happy for her and Regina. It was odd, yet funny, how many times either Emma or Regina were told 'It's about time', or 'Finally', by someone around town. Emma had decided she needed to stop worrying about what others thought anyway.

It took a while for Emma to finally decide on what it was she wanted to do with her life now. She knew she could go back to the station, and part of her wanted to, but she also was looking at this as a new lease on life and wanted to start something new. The blonde spent a lot of time talking to kids of all ages around town and eventually, with Regina's help, she opened a youth center. It was a place for kids of all ages to come before and after school and on the weekends. It was a place they could be safe and have fun. No bullying, no drugs, no alcohol. She set up different activities, programs, and even therapy sessions for some kids who needed it. The kids all adored Emma and she felt like she was truly making a difference. Most kids in town had amazing lives and just needed something to pass the time so they weren't getting into trouble. However, there were some who needed more-needed someone to talk to or even someone to help them. With the joining of the realms, there were more families with different traditions and different histories. Some kids needed help figuring out the old world with the new and how they fit it while others needed help from abusive or turbulent situations. Emma would help however she could and took pride in her work.

Regina supported Emma through it all and loved seeing her thrive again. She loved having 'her' Emma back; the Emma that was self-confident, strong, sassy, kind, caring, and an amazing mother to their son. She also loved the sides of Emma she had never got to see before; the sexy, loving, gentle sides she got to experience just for herself. It took a while for Emma to get back to a place where she could be vulnerable again, but once she did, Regina was there to assure her that she was safe. Their first night together wasn't exactly smooth and easy, but it was wonderful. It was full of seeking permission, giving and receiving assurances, both wondering if they were going too fast or too slow, but in the end, it was everything Regina had hoped it would be. The two of them were simply perfectly made for each other.

More and more Regina couldn't stop her imagination from thinking of her and Emma standing in front of everyone with smiles as they exchanged vows. She couldn't stop herself from wondering how great it would be to call Emma her wife. However, she tried to push those thoughts aside when she'd remember how Emma's first marriage turned out. She didn't think the blonde would ever want to get married again. She was going to ask it one night when they were cuddled up together, but then Emma said something that made her know the blonde would never want to marry again.

" _Do you ever think of getting married again?" Emma had asked as she lazily gazed from the fire to Regina. The two had more than a bit of wine and it was showing in Emma's pink cheeks and slurred words._

_Regina smiled at the blonde, her blonde. "Sometimes. I mean, my first marriage was…well honestly, not worth mentioning and for a time, I thought I'd never want it again."_

" _Yeah, I get that." Emma said, looking back into the fire. "Everyone makes marriage sound like this happy thing that is just fantastic that will make the rest of your life like a fairytale." She finished the last of her wine with a gulp. "What they don't tell you is that as soon as you say 'I do' you've basically agreed to become the other person's property. You're theirs to do what ever they want to with and to you. What's the point in that? Why would anyone do that more than once?"_

And that was it. That was when Regina knew that she and Emma would never be married. She was okay with that; mostly she was okay with that. She understood it, of course she did. She knew exactly why Emma would feel the way she did. But if anyone close to her were to ask, she had to admit it did hurt to know Emma would never want to be her wife. It wasn't fair of her to feel like that, so she'd never admit it to Emma, but it was the truth. Could she be happy just being Emma's girlfriend or partner for the rest of their lives? Yes. Yes, she could and would be so happy being Emma's other half, even if there were no legal paperwork to make it official.

Emma didn't remember the conversation that Regina did. She barely remembered that night, if she were honest. There was a lot of wine and kissing involved. She, too, had visions of her and Regina getting married. She in a tux and Regina in a beautiful dress, even if it was cliché, she wanted it. She wanted just a small affair as the one with Killian had been too much. Just Henry, her parents, Maleficent, Lilly, Granny, and Ruby, maybe a few others, and her and Regina of course. Just something small and sweet and then a kick ass party afterwards. Music, dancing, drinking, everything they didn't get after her first wedding. Then, she and Regina would go on a honeymoon. Someplace tropical where clothing would be optional, and Regina would tan while she burned; that was inevitable.

"What are you thinking about, Emma? You're smiling like a dork." Lilly said as she brought their coffee's over. She sat down next to her mother and both were looking at Emma.

"Oh, nothing. I don't know." Emma said, waving it off and reaching for her coffee.

Maleficent reached out and took Emma's wrist. "Nope, not getting away that easily. That face you were just making was adorable and I want to know what you were thinking to cause it."

Emma sighed, her face falling a bit. "It doesn't matter because it isn't going to happen."

Mal gently let go and patiently waited for an explanation.

Emma sighed again, knowing she wasn't going to get off that easily. "Please, if I tell you, I need you to promise not to tell anyone else. Don't go pulling a Snow White on me." She said, shooting her mother a look.

Snow raised her brows, giving the look of pure innocents. "I don't know what you're talking about. I can keep my mouth shut."

Emma gave her another look and then closed her eyes. "I want to ask Regina to marry me, but I don't think she wants to get married again." Emma let out, almost as just one long word. When no one spoke, she continued, still keeping her eyes closed. "I know it's dumb, I know neither of us had a good first marriage, but gods, I want to marry her so much." Emma opened her eyes and stared at her coffee. "I know it's fast, I know it's crazy, I know I should be terrified, but…"

"Why?" Snow asked, leaning forward so Emma would look at her. "Why is it fast, crazy, why is it dumb? Why do you think you should be terrified? Emma, you are happier than I have ever seen you before; both you and Regina are. Yes, your first marriage was terrible, but that wasn't your fault or Regina's. It wasn't a death sentence, even if it did come close. It wasn't something that means you should never get married again. Okay, maybe to some outsider it would look fast, but Emma, it's been nearly a year since you escaped Killian and you and Regina have known each other for so long now. If you take Killian, Robin and any other distractions out of the way, this is honestly a long time coming. Jeepers, even when we were under the curse, I couldn't help wonder why you and Regina didn't just sleep together and get it over with."

Emma just stared at her mom, shocked. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." Snow laughed and sipped her coffee. "Ruby and I used to laugh about it all the time. We even used to have bets on who would cave first between you two. I mean, you literally eye fucked each other all the time."

"Mother!" Emma gasped having never heard her mom swear before. Lilly and Mal just chuckled and Snow shrugged.

"Well you did. I also happen to believe that you were a little instigator. I think you got Regina upset on purpose because you found it hot when she would yell at you."

Emma blushed and looked back at her coffee. She was right, of course, but it was awkward coming from her mother.

"She's right." Lilly said. "I mean I didn't know Regina pre-curse, but when you two came to find me, I thought for sure you'd start fucking in the back of the car at any point. It was crazy to me when I heard you weren't together."

"Okay, first-you all need to stop swearing. Second, we're getting off track here."

Maleficent chuckled and sipped her coffee. "Emma, have you talked to Regina about this? About how she feels about marriage?"

Emma gave a small shrug. "I can't say it's come up, but I know how her first marriage was and I don't know why she'd want to do it again."

Snow couldn't stop her eye roll. "Because you're Emma and not Leopold." It used to kill Snow to talk about her father badly, but after she and Regina had a heart to heart, she understood her father wasn't the perfect man she had thought him to be. "He treated her like property, you would never do that. Emma, she never loved him, but she loves you."

Mal took Emma's hand. "Ask her. Emma, she's never been properly asked before. She was forced the first time. She would fall in love with you even more if you proposed to her. There's no way she'd say no."

Emma chewed her lip a bit, again looking at her coffee mug. Lilly grinned at her best friend. "You already have a plan, don't you Swan?"

"Emma, as much as I love spending time with you, I really don't get why you asked me to come with you and not your mother." David said as they stood outside the shop.

Emma had driving her and David out of Storybrooke for the day as she wanted to go to a store in Boston. She stood outside, looking through the window. "Because I need your opinion on what you think Regina would like. Mom would only tell me what she likes." She turned and looked at her dad. "I know this isn't something you ever thought you'd do with your daughter, dad, and I'm sorry for that, but this means a lot to me."

David looked at Emma and then reached for her hand. "Emma…please never apologize for being you. Please don't think that I'm disappointed in you or anything like that. I love you so much and if Regina makes you happy, which everyone knows she does, then I'm happy with that. I swear though, if you get hurt again, the Evil Prince will make an appearance."

Emma couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Thanks dad, but you don't have to worry about that. If I can trust her, so can you."

"I know, Em. But last time I didn't…" He sighed. "I didn't follow my gut and you got so hurt. I never want that to happen again. I want you to call me or your mother at least once a week, okay?"

Emma sighed, but with a smile. "Dad, please. Nothing is going to change. This isn't last time, this is better."

"Okay. Let's go pick out a ring."

Emma paced back and forth in front of the mirror, running her fingers through her hair. Today was the day and she was nervous as hell. She had her mom help her pick out her clothes and then wonder why. Snow had wanted her to wear a dress and heals, but Emma knew that wouldn't work for what she had planned. Instead, she went with an emerald green shirt, skinny jeans and boots. She had called the stables, and everything was set up, but she was still scared something would go wrong.

"Emma? I know you hate riding, we really don't have to do this today." Regina said as she came out of the ensuite bathroom. She was drying her hair with a towel and looked over at Emma. "You look nice."

"Thanks, and we're going. Regina, you sat through all the Harry Potter movies for me, I can sit on a horse for a couple hours. Now, hurry up or we'll be late." Emma said, going over and pressing a lingering kiss on Regina's lips.

The two were saddled up and taking Regina's favorite path. Regina looked over at Emma and raised a brow. "Have you been riding with out me? Your form is almost perfect."

"A few times with dad. I figure I should get over my fear of these animals. Plus, Archie said it would be good for me because…well the whole control thing."

"Control thing?"

Emma nodded. "Well, I always said I didn't like to ride because I didn't feel like I was in control. Archie said that riding is actually perfect because I'd have to learn to share control with the horse. It's good though, it shows me that I don't have to be in complete control."

"That makes sense. I'm proud of you, Emma." Regina smiled and then looked up over to the little brook they liked to stop at to rest and let the horses drink. "What's that?"

Emma smiled. "That's part one of your surprise." She led the two horses over to the white tent. "you gave me the idea, actually." Emma dismounted and held her hand out to Regina to help her down.

"Why thank you." Regina said, dismounting gracefully.

The two sat at the table that was set up in the tent and Emma poured them each a glass of chilled cider. "I'm sorry it's not a fancy meal or anything. I can't cook as many things as you can, and my fried chicken is probably better, but I know you prefer grilled, so grilled chicken, asparagus for you and corn bread for me." Emma chuckled.

"I think for today I may take some corn bread." Regina said, surprising Emma as she took a piece from her and bit into it. "Mmm, this is so good, Emma."

Emma smiled lightly. "I'm glad you think so. Now try the chicken."

After eating a delicious lunch, Emma broke out dessert. She had thought about putting the ring in the cupcake but knew that was too cliché. Instead, she'd just out and out ask Regina.

"Emma? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?" Emma asked.

"It's just that you've been a bit quieter than normal."

Emma took that as her opportunity. "Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking." She reached over the table and took Regina's hand. "Regina, you have been my life saver through everything. I know you don't think that, I know you think my family would have been enough and maybe they would have been, but it wouldn't have been the same. When I was in the woods, freezing and in so much pain and thinking I was about to die, you were the last thought I had before my dad came. You, and how much I love you." Emma knew she had tears forming in her eyes, but she just blinked them back. "Regina, you cared so much about me. You made sure I took care of myself, you put your life on hold to save mine and damnit, I fell even more in love with you. But the thing is, even before all that, even before Killian, before the curse broke, I knew you were the one for me. You challenged me, stood up to me, you angered me and frustrated me, but you also made me see who I was and what I was capable of." Emma sighed, knowing she was rambling. "Sorry, my point is, I wish I would have had the guts back then to tell you how I feel. Now, I know neither of us had a good first marriage and I'm sure at one point or another we each have thought we'd never do it again. I get that, so when I ask my question, please know that I would understand if you said no."

"Emma…"

"No please, let me do this. I've worked on this speech for a while." Emma said, and Regina nodded. Emma moved to get on her knee next to Regina, making Regina gasp and put her free hand to her mouth, her eyes filled with tears. "Regina Mills, I promise you that if you say yes, I will never, ever treat you like property. I will never abuse you in any way. I can't promise we wont fight, everyone does from time to time, but I promise that when we do, I will be respectful of how I do it. You'll never hurt, you'll never wonder if I love you. You'll feel the way you've always made me feel, Regina; loved for who you are. Regina, will you marry me?" Emma pulled the ring out and held the box open, chewing her lip.

"Oh Emma. Emma, I thought you….I never thought you'd want to be married again. I've dreamed of marrying you, but figured it was never going to happen and I was okay with that. I would be happy just being with you but now…yes. Yes! Oh Emma Swan, I will marry you!" She kissed Emma hard and wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. "I love you so much, Emma."

"But what if she changed her mind? What if I stand there and she never comes? What if she ran away already?" Emma said, wringing her hands in worry.

"She didn't, Em. She's with my mom getting ready. Emma, she loves you; she'd never leave you." Lilly said as she pinned the dark red rose on Emma's pocket and straightened her tie. "You look hot, by the way. The tux was a good idea. Never knew a woman could look so sexy in a tux."

Emma looked at her and raised a brow. "Are you flirting with me on my wedding day?"

Lilly chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to pay you a compliment, don't make me regret it."

Snow came in and smiled at her daughter. "You look great, Emma. Are you ready?"

Emma took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. I'm so ready for this. Is everyone else ready?"

"Yes. Let's go, baby girl."

Mr. Gold had offered to officiate the wedding and because of all the help he gave her, Emma agreed. She stood by him and felt the butterflies flying in her stomach. Though she didn't want to, she remembered her last wedding day. She had been nervous then, but for completely different reasons. Before, she knew she didn't want to do it, but now…now she couldn't wait. Music started, and Emma's head shot up and found Regina. Henry smiled as he walked with his mom down the aisle, but all Emma could do was look at Regina.

Regina looked stunning in her short, white gown. She didn't want traditional, so the dress was shorter and trimmed in red and looked simply amazing. Emma took Regina's hands once she reached her and resisted the urge to kiss her.

The wedding was short and sweet and once the vows and kisses were exchanged, everyone went to Granny's. Granny had let Maleficent use her magic to clear the dinner of most tables and booths so that there was a dance floor. Ruby got a couple kegs of beer and Regina and Emma purchased many bottles of alcohol. It was a major party where there was dancing and laughing and fun and love. If Emma was not by Regina, she always knew where she was and vice versa. At the end of the night, Henry said his good byes before going to stay with Snow and David. He'd stay with them while his moms were on their honeymoon.

"What are you thinking about, love?" Regina asked, coming up behind Emma and wrapping her arms around her carefully. "Other than that sunburn?" She asked with a chuckle.

Emma smiled softly and leaned back into Regina. "I knew the burn would happen; it's just as I imagined it."

"Then what's on your mind?" Regina asked again, resting her chin on Emma's shoulder as she looked out into the ocean.

"Everything. You, me, the wedding, how happy I am, how happy I hope you are."

"Oh Emma. I'm so happy." Regina said, moving the blonde so they were looking at each other. "This, my love, is our truly happy beginning."


End file.
